Relegation, big-wig benchwarmers, Marcus Rashford placement/replacement, transfer policies, Old Trafford revival, and whatnot – the great Manchester United descent was in full swing when Ruben Amorim‘s Red Devils visited Anfield to renew their Premier League rivalry with Liverpool on Sunday. Already under the pump after the Newcastle botch job, Amorim-coached Man United produced a much-improved scoreline for the partisans at Anfield.
Quizzed by former Reds forward Daniel Sturridge at Anfield, a Liverpool faithful was bold enough to predict a 7-0 scoreline in the build-up to the showdown. Six hours later, the crestfallen Red Devils played out a four-goal thriller against table-toppers Liverpool to deny Arne Slot’s men an eight-point lead at the top. Humiliated on New Year’s Eve at the Theatre of Dreams, misfiring Manchester United successfully avoided four consecutive defeats (for the first time since 1979) in the Premier League.
Martinez saves Matthijs’ blushes
Seven points from the relegation zone, Man United took a surprise lead over Liverpool when Lisandro Martinez fired a thunderous shot to outclass world-class Alisson Becker in the 52nd minute. While ex-Bayern Munich starman Matthijs de Ligt had another forgetful night, Argentina defender Martinez earned plaudits for his all-around show. The £56.7m signing from the house of Ajax almost engineered the opener through Rasmus Hojlund in the first half. Seven into the first half, Martinez cashed in on a Bruno Fernandes through ball to open the scoring for the Red Devils.
Salah sizzles again, completes side Suarez quest
A Cody Gakpo special forced Slot to extend the Dutchman’s stay in the second half before Liverpool took the lead through free-scoring Mohamed Salah. Slotting home the penalty in the 70th minute, Salah took his goal tally to 18 in the English top flight this season. Liverpool’s Golden Boot frontrunner has a record goal involvements (31) in the first 19 Premier League outings of a season. Imperious Salah has surpassed Luis Suarez, who had 30 goal involvements (23 goals, 7 assists) in the 2013-14 season. No player has scored more goals against United than Salah (13) since 2020. Salah also matched Thierry Henry‘s goal tally (175) in the Premier League.
Can Amorim keep United Rashford-free?
Rashford was dropped from the Man Utd squad again, but his absence was justified. Tipped to leave Old Trafford in the January transfer window, Rashford missed the Anfield trip due to illness. Amad Diallo, who snatched the derby win for Man United at Etihad, headlined the spirited display of the Red Devils against Liverpool. Capping off the redemption night for the visitors at Anfield, Diallo cancelled Salah’s strike by obliging to Alejandro Garnacho‘s cut-back in the 80th minute.
Oh Harry!
United’s stalemate statement at Anfield was overshadowed by Harry Maguire‘s unacceptable miss seconds before the final whistle. On commentary duty for Sky Sports, former Man United captain Gary Neville was visibly disappointed after Maguire failed to seal a stunning win for United at Anfield. “Oh, my god! I can’t believe it. It may just be offside but Harry Maguire wasn’t to know that. It’s bobbled into him, to be fair, he’s got a bit of work to do to control it, it’s halfway up his shin and that’s it,” Neville explained.
“Listen, that would have been amazing if they could have won it at the end but what they did was show plenty of fighting spirit. That’s what I asked for at the start of the game and the bonus was the quality of play, to score two goals, they nearly won it at the end,” added Roy Keane as the United legend credited both teams after the final whistle. Thirteenth-placed Man United will travel to London for a heavyweight FA Cup clash with Arsenal on Sunday.
Topics mentioned in this article
