Manchester United’s match against Liverpool on Thursday night lived up to its billing, with the two teams sharing six goals between them. The Reds came out on top in a game that was packed with excitement at both ends.
Liverpool beat Manchester United 4-2 at Old Trafford to take the bragging rights home with them. Jurgen Klopp’s men will also be delighted with the fact that a win at the expense of their rivals puts them right on the tails of Chelsea and Leicester City – the teams currently occupying the last two remaining Champions League qualification spots. Furthermore, Liverpool have a game in hand over Chelsea, which implies, they could go within one point of the Blues.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer named a full-strength side against Liverpool after resorting to his reserves two days earlier against Leicester City. Marcus Rashford, Bruno Fernandes, Edinson Cavani, Luke Shaw, and Aaron Wan Bissaka were all called back into the starting eleven after largely missing out on the loss to Leicester. Liverpool, meanwhile, had some notable absentees in central defence. Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez, Joel Matip, and Ozan Kabak were all ruled out due to injuries, which meant that Jurgen Klopp fielded a pairing of youngsters Nat Phillips and Rhys Willians in defence.
Phillips was involved in both the goals in the first half – one at either end. The defender scored past his own goalkeeper in the tenth minute, unintentionally diverting a Fernandes shot into the corner. However, he made amends for his error by playing a key role in Liverpool’s equalizer. Phillips picked up the ball in the United box after the Red Devils had failed to deal with a corner. He dribbled past a couple of onrushing players before sending a low drive towards the goal, which was flicked past Dean Henderson by Diogo Jota.
Liverpool had a few penalty shouts turned down by the referee, and later, VAR before Jota’s equalizing goal. Jurgen Klopp’s team was ultimately awarded for their persistence in the first half when Roberto Firmino scored their second goal in stoppage time. The Brazilian scored at the back post with a header following a cross from Trent Alexander-Arnold.
The same combination of Alexander-Arnold and Firmino was key in Liverpool’s third goal, which arrived two minutes after the start of the second half. Henderson spilled the defender’s shot into the path of Firmino, who smashed the ball into the roof of the net from close range.
It was Manchester United’s turn to attack then. The Red Devils pulled one goal back in the 68th minute when Rashford squeezed his shot past Alisson. Three minutes later, Mason Greenwood – on as a substitute – has his shot from close range cleared off the line by Phillips. The ball fell to the youngster at the far post following a mix-up in the Liverpool box, but he somehow failed to find the back of the net.
United were made to pay for spurning their opportunities when Mohamed Salah sealed the result in the 90th minute. Salah took advantage of the fact that the majority of the opposition team had advanced to the Liverpool half. The Egyptian received the ball in midfield and raced on unchallenged before scoring past Henderson. That goal sealed the win, and subsequently, the three points for the Reds.
The implications of Liverpool’s win over Manchester United could be lasting. The three points collected at Old Trafford put them just behind Chelsea and Leicester City, with the former having played one more game than the Reds. Both teams will be out of league action this weekend due to their FA Cup final meeting, thus providing Liverpool with the opportunity to close the gap even further. Should Klopp’s team beat an already relegated West Bromwich Albion on the weekend, they will move to just one point behind Chelsea.
