Juan Mata struck twice for Manchester United as Liverpool were dealt a major blow to their top-four hopes and captain Steven Gerrard was sensationally sent off within seconds of coming on. Ander Herrera's through ball found Mata on 14 minutes for the opener as Louis van Gaal's side got off to the perfect start. Brendan Rodgers brought on the experience and leadership of his captain Gerrard for the second half, but in less than a minute he was soon walking off in disgrace after a stamp on Ander Herrera. Star man Juan Mata celebrates his spectacular second goal in Manchester United's 2-1 win over Liverpool . Mata scored a brilliant second in the 59th minute as he met Angel di Maria's chip into the box with a horizontal volley perfectly buried at the far post, giving Simon Mignolet no chance. Daniel Sturridge weighed in with an opportunistic finish that gave Liverpool hope but wasn't enough to prevent United securing a five-point gap between the rivals either side of the Champions League qualification places. Sportsmail's Chris Wheeler was at Anfield to assess all the players' performances. Phil Jones posted a picture with Mata to Twitter and said: 'Great result today! This man was unbelievable!' LIVERPOOL (4-3-4) SIMON MIGNOLET - 6.5 . Unlucky not to keep out Mata’s first goal but had absolutely no chance with the second. Brilliant penalty save from Wayne Rooney in stoppage time. Liverpool keeper Simon Mignolet almost saves Mata's right-footed strike that put the Reds behind 1-0 . EMRE CAN - 6 . Had his hands full with Fellaini in the first half. Guilty of bringing down Blind for the late penalty. MARTIN SKRTEL - 6 . Coped well with Rooney on the whole. Frustration got the better of him when he was involved in a tussle with De Gea at the final whistle. Emre Can (left) dealt with Marouane Fellaini in the first half but fouled Daley Blind (right) for the penalty . MAMADOU SAKHO - 6.5 . Not always the most composed of defenders, but fought until the end and gave very little away. ADAM LALLANA - 5 . Wasted Liverpool’s best chance of the match after being on the receiving end of a crunching challenge from Jones, and replaced by Gerrard at half-time. Liverpool's Adam Lallana fails to hit the target with his side's best first-half chance at Anfield . JOE ALLEN - 5 . Gave away possession cheaply on several occasions and was booked for trying to win it back from Herrera. JORDAN HENDERSON - 6.5 . Battled to keep his side in the game after Gerrard’s red card. Unlucky not to connect with Moreno’s cross in the first half. ALBERTO MORENO - 5 . Slack pass early on set the tone for his performance. Spaniard was caught out of position when Mata fired United ahead. Liverpool's stand-in captain Jordan Henderson holds off Fellaini during a spirited midfield battle . RAHEEM STERLING - 5 . Very subdued indeed. Much was expected of the England star but he failed to deliver after De Gea saved at his feet early on. DANIEL STURRIDGE - 6.5 . Took his chance well to bring Liverpool back into the game after swinging wildly at a volley when opportunity knocked in the first half. Subdued by his standards on Sunday, Raheem Sterling is pressured by Manchester United's Ashley Young . Daniel Sturridge buries this opportunistic chance with a deflection of Jones' foot to peg one back . PHILIPPE COUTINHO - 7 . Liverpool’s best player, always pushing and probing. No surprise that the goal came from his incisive pass to Sturridge. In-form Liverpool forward Philippe Coutinho was his side's standout player and set-up Sturridge's goal . MANAGER - BRENDAN RODGERS: 5 . Has to take responsibility for the fact Liverpool simply didn’t turn up in the first half and played so cautiously. Substitutes: . Steven Gerrard (for Lallana 46, 1), Balotelli (for Moreno 65, 4) Substitutes not used: Jones, Johnson, Toure, Lambert, Lucas . Gerrard clatters into Juan Mata in a crunching tackle moments before his sending off after 38 seconds . MANCHESTER UNITED (4-1-4-1) DAVID DE GEA - 6.5 . Showed great anticipation to snuff out the danger when Liverpool threatened. Will be annoyed to have been beaten by Sturridge at his near post. ANTONIO VALENCIA - 6.5 . Another rock-solid display from the Ecuadorian who hardly put a foot wrong after a brief stumble almost let in Liverpool early on. Manchester United keeper David de Gea saves at the feet of Sterling as he snuffs out another Liverpool attack . CHRIS SMALLING - 6.5 . One of his stronger performances. Mature and composed. The England defender even got forward on occasions. PHIL JONES - 6 . Floored Lallana with a full-blooded challenge in the first half and was fortunate to only get a yellow card for a wild tackle on Henderson in the second. DALEY BLIND - 7 . Made a couple of fine interception tackles early in the game and rarely looked troubled after that. Won the late penalty. United defender Phil Jones is lucky to only be booked after this reckless challenge on Henderson . Antonio Valencia protects the ball from Lallana as United hold out a late Liverpool resurgence . MICHAEL CARRICK - 6.5 . Kept United ticking over from the base of midfield but was guilty of being caught in possession for Liverpool’s goal. JUAN MATA - 8 . What a day for the little Spaniard. He produced a composed finish to put United ahead and a spectacular one for the decisive second goal. Man-of-the-match Juan Mata spectacularly volleys from a horizontal position for what would be the winner . ANDER HERRERA - 7 . Wonderful defence-splitting pass to set up the first goal. Another impressive display but booked over the incident that saw Gerrard sent off. MAROUANE FELLAINI - 7 . Did what he does best, getting on the end of long balls and scrapping for everything. Particularly effective in the first half. Marouane Fellaini towers over Liverpool's Joe Allen as the Belgian scraps for everything for United . ASHLEY YOUNG 5.5 . A peripheral figure on the left and replaced by Di Maria less than 10 minutes into the second half. WAYNE ROONEY 6 . Anfield has never been his happiest hunting ground and was a little disappointing again, seeing his injury-time penalty saved. Wayne Rooney was a little disappointing again at Anfield and had his penalty saved late on by Mignolet . MANAGER - LOUIS VAN GAAL: 7 . The Dutchman will remember his first game in charge at Anfield fondly. It could prove pivotal in qualifying for the Champions League. Substitutes: Rojo (for Blind 90+4), Di Maria (for Young 55, 7), Falcao (for Herrera 83, 6.5) Substitutes not used: Valdes, Rafael, Januzaj, Pereira . Referee: Martin Atkinson 7 . Got the big decisions right, sending off Steven Gerrard and awarding United a late penalty. Star man: Juan Mata . Referee Martin Atkinson got the big decisions right, including the dramatic sending off of Gerrard .
Juan Mata stars with 8/10 after two goals in Manchester United's win . Steven Gerrard was sent off straight after coming on and rates 1/10 . Philippe Coutinho was Liverpool’s best with 7 and set up their goal . Daley Blind, Marouane Fellaini and Ander Herrera all got 7 for United . Fourth-placed United went five points clear of Liverpool after victory .