Manchester United beat Liverpool at Old Trafford – perfect false start for Jurgen Klopp

In the duel of the loss (Manchester United: two defeats, Liverpool: two draws), the Red Devils wanted to avoid a historic false start in the Premier League. Cristiano Ronaldo was initially only off the bench against Liverpool, Marcus Rashford started as the lone striker in a 4-2-3-1 system.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp surprised his staff. The four defenders were expected to be with Joe Gomez to replace Joel Matip and Ibrahima Konate (both absent through injury). In midfield, Klopp relied on a lot of fitness with Jordan Henderson and James Milner, and surprisingly Fabinho was only sitting on the bench. In the foreground, Roberto Firmino replaced the banned Darwin Nunez in red.

Manchester United got off to a better start, launching an early attack, hampering the visitors’ play and making it again and again in the final third after slick passes through the ball. In the 16th minute, the owners of the land deservedly advanced. Manchester played well on the left flank. Anthony Ilanga passed the ball down the middle and found Jadon Sancho who slipped Gomez and Alisson into space and finished in the left corner.

The dominance lasted for half an hour, after which Liverpool improved and found more access to the match through plenty of possession. Liverpool almost equalized before the end of the first half after a dead ball. Milner sent in from the right after a corner kick, and Bruno Fernandes tried to clear it and shot it in the wrong direction. Lisandro Martinez saved with great happiness on the goal line (41).

Liverpool also tried to equalize from the start in the second half, but the visitors made a fatal mistake in the 53rd minute. Henderson lost the ball in the center of the circle, and United responded through substitute Anthony Martial, who was sent to Rashford. The attacking man approached Alison alone and safely turned to the left corner from a distance of 16 metres.

The goal gave a boost to Manchester United. The Red Devils defended each other with high strength and a high percentage of duels. Liverpool ran, but rarely found a way into the danger zone. At the final stage, the goal was achieved. Substitute Carvalho was blocked by David de Gea after a corner kick from 11 yards, and Mohamed Salah scored the rebound from close range in the right corner (81).

Liverpool ran in the final minutes while Manchester defended deeply – he succeeded in the end. The Red Devils deservedly won their match at the end, overcoming Liverpool thanks to a 2-1 win in the table and sending the Reds themselves into a bit of a crisis.

votes:

Jadon Sancho (Manchester United): “This win means a lot to us. We knew it was an important match. Last week was tough so we knew we had to respond. We showed the fans that we could.”

Marcus Rashford (Manchester United): “It’s a very important game for the club, even in normal circumstances, and especially today. We kept playing, played hard and kept defending well after the goal.”

Tweet about the game:

After 997 minutes without a goal, Rashford scored again in the opponent’s goal.

It struck me: an important insight

Manchester United avoided a personal record low and turned the tide of defeats earlier in the season by beating Liverpool 2-1. The team spirit that the Red Devils brought to the pitch was amazing. Every duel was celebrated, every offensive action applauded with enthusiasm. With Casemiro’s signing, Manchester is now acquiring a mental beast.

Team manager Erich Ten Hag found his way against Liverpool to deal with a previously bad situation: he relied not on rank and name, but on conviction and commitment. Ronaldo was on the bench, so was Harry Maguire, and so was Luke Shaw. Instead, Lisandro Martinez, among others, played with fencing intensity in only his third match in the Premier League. Work and mentality are the new traits of the Red Devils – Ronaldo has been on the bench for just 85 minutes.

Stats: 120

Salah equalized with Steven Gerrard with his goal in the 81st minute. Both have 120 goals in the Premier League with Liverpool.