The clash between arch-rivals Liverpool and Manchester United ended in a goalless stalemate. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side continue their unbeaten away run, which has now extended to 12 league games. Meanwhile, Liverpool have failed to score a goal in their last 3 games in the league.
The game began with Liverpool mostly being on the front foot, with United sitting back and trying to hit Jurgen Klopp’s side on the break. The first half did not produce any key events. Both the teams ended the first 45 minutes with one shot on target combined (1 for Liverpool and 0 for United).
Liverpool continued to dominate possession in the second half, but United’s solid defensive shape did not allow them to convert their chances. United finally got their best goalscoring opportunity in the 75th minute. Luke Shaw made a great run to deliver a low cross to Bruno Fernandes, but Alisson denied them a goal. Three minutes later, David De Gea saved Thiago’s long shot to prevent the Spaniard from scoring.
The game ended with both the sides sharing a point. It was a fair result since neither side performed at their sparkling best yesterday.
Lineups
Amid an injury crisis, Jurgen Klopp was forced to pick a lineup without any centre-backs. Jordan Henderson and Fabinho were deployed in that position. Thiago, Wijnaldum and Shaqiri featured as the midfielders, with the frontline of Firmino, Salah and Mane.
Solskjaer started with his usual 4-2-3-1 formation with the pivot of Fred and McTominay. Paul Pogba featured as a ‘false winger’, the role in which he has been performing well lately.
A solid defensive display from Lindelof and Shaw
Manchester United spent most of the game defending deep and trying to hit the Scousers on the break. Luke Shaw delivered a fantastic defensive performance, keeping Mohamed Salah in his pocket the whole game.
Victor Lindelof had a very solid game too. Many fans had shown a lot of displeasure after seeing him on the team sheet instead of Eric Bailly, but he turned to be very impressive. The Swedish defender made 10 clearances yesterday and also won 2 aerial duals.
United’s inability to attack
Manchester United’s plan to hit Liverpool on the counter did not work really well. Due to them playing very defensively, the attackers were mostly isolated.
Anthony Martial tried to drop deeper at times in order to pick the ball from midfield, but the Frenchman did not really excel in that regard. Marcus Rashford made a lot of good runs but he was caught offside most of the time.
Bruno Fernandes failed to control the game too. The United talisman had a passing accuracy of 61%, which is not surprising at all since he misplaced so many passes and failed to provide for the offensive players.
Solskjaer’s men have only scored 1 goal in 5 league games against the ‘big 6’ this season, that too a penalty. The Norwegian manager will have to fix this if United want to get the better of world class opponents.
Liverpool’s goalless run continues
Just like United, Liverpool were also having a hard time whilst trying to score, despite having more possession. Mohamed Salah didn’t quite have a game he was hoping for. Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino also failed to perform at the level they are usually supposed to.
Jurgen Klopp’s side were relying too much on the fullbacks. Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andrew Robertson played decently, but they were being shut down very easily. The only standout player in the red shirt yesterday was Thiago. The Spanish international controlled the midfield very well, having a passing accuracy of 86%. He also created 2 chances and made 2 key passes.
With a goalless draw yesterday, Liverpool are now goalless in 3 consecutive league games. Scoring goals is becoming a serious problem for Jurgen Klopp’s men. The Premier League winner will be hoping to make amends for the points his club have dropped lately.
How does the league table look?
Manchester United still remain on top of the league, but they can be taken over by Manchester City if they win their next game against Aston Villa.
Liverpool lie at 4th place, being a point behind Leicester City and 3 points behind United and a point behind City (who have a game in hand).
With the first half of the league almost over, the top 4 looks very close and the title race seems to be much more interesting than it was in the previous seasons.
