LONDON, Dec. 17 -- Manchester United had not lost in their previous eight league clashes with Liverpool and given their performances this season, it seems appropriate that their positive run against their bitterest rivals should end on Sunday afternoon in a chilly Anfield Stadium in such a decisive manner.
The wind may have been cold, but the atmosphere was red hot, the problem for Manchester United coach Jose Mourinho was that the fans chanting "Don't sack Mourinho, Don't sack Mourinho," were the Liverpool and not Manchester United supporters.
Although Liverpool had a dose of luck in Xherdan Shaqiri's two deflected shots which eventually gave them a 3-1 win, there is no doubt that win was clearly deserved as Liverpool chalked up over 35 shots to less than five from their rivals.
Mourinho was left to muse post-game that Liverpool had been physically stronger than his side, but they also played better football, were more ambitious and looked like a side that believe they have a chance of winning the title.
In contrast Manchester United striker Romelu Lukaku looked like a man who didn't actually know what the ball was for. That wasn't entirely his fault, given that he hardly saw it all game due to his side's defensive set up. Never has the Belgium had so few touches of the ball during a game in which he's played 90 minutes.
If Liverpool believe they can win the title, there is also confidence at the Ethiad Stadium where Manchester City bounced back after last weekend's setback against Chelsea to beat Everton 3-1.
Gabriel Jesus scored twice at exactly the right time with Kun Aguero coming back after injury and it was business as usual for Pep Guardiola's side.
Tottenham were seconds from being brought back down to earth following last week's Camp Nou heroics, as Burnley looked as if they were going to cling on for a 0-0 draw at Wembley. However, Cristian Erikson came off the bench to score the only goal of the game in stoppage time to keep Spurs third and condemn their rivals to drop into the bottom 3.
Burnley fall into the drop zone after the 'Hassenhutl' effect took hold of Southampton as the 'Saints' won their first home game under the Austrian coach to end Arsenal's 22-match unbeaten run.
Southampton twice took the lead through Danny Ings headers, but were twice pegged back before Charlie Austin nodded home the winning goal in the closing minutes as Arsenal keeper Bernd Leon misjudged a cross and went for the ball if he was clutching at snowflakes.
Chelsea had better luck on the south coast thanks to a 2-1 win over Brighton, although the home side fought back well after conceding first half goals to Pedro and Eden Hazzard.
Elsewhere Crystal Palace showed they can win without Wilfred Zaha in their side as they beat Leicester City 1-0 although they had failed to do so in 14 games without him.
Newcastle United's 1-0 win at Huddersfield underlined the lack of quality at the home side while West Ham's 2-0 win at Fulham will have worried Claudio Ranieri that he simply does not have the quality available to work a miracle this time around.
Finally Watford beat Cardiff City in a 5-goal thriller as the visitors scored twice in the last 10 minutes after Watford had been leading 3-0 with 10 minutes to play, and Wolves are up to seventh thanks to a 2-0 victory over Bournemouth to their three consecutive wins after their November dip in form.
Say it quietly, but the recently promoted side are just one point behind Manchester United.