Liverpool winger Albert Riera reckons Manchester United are showing signs of pressure as the title-race heats up.

The Spaniard scored his fifth goal of the season in the 5-0 rout of Aston Villa yesterday, after United slumped to a 2-0 defeat to Fulham at Craven Cottage.

Riera insists Liverpool can handle the pressure ahead of the run-in but has questioned United’s resolve after the gap at the top was reduced to one point.

“After the game against United last week when we won at Old Trafford, we showed them that we are still fighting and that we will be until the very end.

“Now after winning against Villa and with United losing (at Fulham) I think that they can feel us near to them.

“There are a lot of matches to be played in the Premier League and the Champions League and there will be a lot of pressure and I believe that they can feel this.”

He added: “It was a great performance from everybody in the team and the most important thing is that we had to win, and we did.”

Riera latched on to Pepe Reina’s kick out to expertly hammer home Liverpool’s second at Anfield yesterday, but it was only his third league goal of the season and fifth in total.

Manager Rafael Benitez believes, however, his compatriot is beginning to answer his critics.

“Riera has had his up-and-down moments since joining the club, but his form has improved,” said Benitez. “He is now showing the consistency you need to perform in the Premier League.

“He is starting to show the form I knew he had when we bought him to the club.”

Meanwhile, Liverpool co-owner George Gillett is considering the sale of his sporting assets, including his 50 per cent share in the club and the Montreal Canadiens, a senior executive at the NHL team has said.

"The Gillett family has retained the services of financial advisors in order to assess various strategic alternatives to optimize the value of its corporate assets," communications vice-president Donald Beauchamp said.

He confirmed a story in the French-language daily La Pressewhich said Gillett had hired a total of four financial firms in Europe, the United States and Canada to look at all Gillett's properties, including Liverpool.

Canadiens president Pierre Boivin told the newspaper that the decision was linked to the economic crisis and what he said was the unwillingness of banks to finance even very good projects.

"We're talking about a very large range of firms and assets which are good companies. There is Liverpool, Nascar, the Canadiens and the Bell Centre," Boivin said.

Last year Gillett said he was prepared to sell his holding to Dubai International Capital after falling out with co-owner tom Hicks, but a proposed deal fell through.

He and Hicks have endured a stormy relationship since taking control of Liverpool for £218.9 million ($319.2 million) in February 2007.

Neither man wants to sell his stake to the other.