United and Chelsea score big wins
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Giggs struck twice in 11 minutes in the second half.
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LIVERPOOL, England -- Two second half goals from Ryan Giggs lifted Manchester United to a 2-1 win over archrivals Liverpool at Anfield in the English Premier League, while second-placed Chelsea routed Newcastle, 5-0.
Glen Johnson put Chelsea ahead on 25 minutes with Hernan Crespo and Frank Lampard's penalty making it 3-0 before halftime at Stamford Bridge. Damien Duff and Eidur Gudjohnsen completed the scoring.
United's win, their third straight league success over Liverpool, keeps them in third place in the table, two points behind leaders Arsenal, who beat Tottenham 2-1 on Saturday, and one point adrift of Chelsea.
Liverpool, playing without the injured Michael Owen, are eighth in the table after seeing their four-match unbeaten run come to an end.
Uncomfortable afternoon
Polish keeper Jerzy Dudek, whose blunder gifted United their win in the corresponding fixture last season, once again suffered an uncomfortable afternoon.
He was at fault on Giggs' first goal on 59 minutes, when a cross intended for Ruud van Nistelrooy swung into the net without the Dutchman making contact, and on the second 11 minutes later when Giggs managed to squeeze his shot into the net from a tight angle.
Earlier in the half, Dudek was lucky not to concede another goal to Giggs, scrambling back towards his line to make a save after his mishit clearance had fallen to the Welshman.
"It was a cross," said Giggs of his first goal. "With Ruud and Diego (Forlan) there, it was always going to cause them trouble."
"We didn't perform in the first half. They had the better of the first half. We knew we would improve, and that's what we did."
Liverpool's best chances came after they were two goals down and Harry Kewell pulled one back soon after with a low shot past United keeper Tim Howard.
Florent Sinama Pongolle was unlucky not to win a penalty following a challenge from Rio Ferdinand two minutes after Kewell's goal, while a good tackle from Mickael Silvestre denied Danny Murphy a scoring chance and Emile Heskey shot wide in injury time.
"Once we went up 2-0, Liverpool started to play well," United coach Sir Alex Ferguson said. "It was a nailbiting finish."
"I wouldn't think we deserved to lose," Liverpool coach Gerard Houllier said. "We dominated but had a dip in maybe 15 or 20 minutes in the second half, and they took advantage of that."
Owen injured
Owen looks set to miss England's friendly with Denmark next weekend after suffering a recurrence of an ankle
injury, but Houllier hoped he could be fit for Liverpool's next league match against Middlesbrough on November 22.
"He could feel his ankle again so he decided not take part," said Houllier. "There is no point playing him if he is not 100 percent. I don't think he will be able to take part in the international game either. He should be okay for the Middlesbrough game."
In-form Chelsea, who won 4-0 at Lazio in the Champions League in midweek, took the lead against Newcastle on 24 minutes when fullback Glenn Johnson slammed in Wayne Bridge's cross.
Crespo's sharp finish made it 2-0, and Newcastle suffered a double blow before halftime when Andy O'Brien was sent off for a foul in the area on Adrian Mutu and Frank Lampard converted the penalty.
Duff capitalized on a poor clearance by Newcastle keeper Shay Given with a splendid solo goal before Eidur Gudjohnsen completed the rout with a headed fifth.
Despite another impressive performance by his side, Chelsea coach Claudio Ranieri refused to concede that they were now genuine title contenders.
"I will believe it when I touch the trophy, not before," Ranieri said. "They are young. It's all right, they can dream. I am a concrete man and I want to continue to work hard. When I wake up I start to work. Dreams finish with the night."
Also on Sunday, Leicester City earned their first away win of the season, and their second straight league win, 3-0 at Manchester City.
Jordan Stewart, Paul Dickov and Marcus Bent got the goals that lifted Leicester from 18th to 15th in the table and thwarted City's bid to climb to fourth in the table.
