Liverpool’s Premier League title challenge took a blow on Sunday as Jurgen Klopp’s side were held to a 2-2 draw by Manchester United at Old Trafford.
The Reds dominated proceedings early on and went ahead when Luis Diaz converted, but brilliant strikes from Bruno Fernandes and Kobbie Mainoo put the Red Devils ahead. Mohamed Salah was required to level from the spot after Aaron Wan-Bissaka brought down Harvey Elliott.
The draw means Liverpool sit second in the table behind Arsenal on goal difference and a point ahead of Manchester City.
Man Utd and Liverpool met as recently as mid March in an FA Cup classic which the Red Devils snatched in extra time, but the mood had turned sour again before this clash at Old Trafford after a humiliating 4-3 defeat for Erik ten Hag’s troops at Chelsea.
For the Reds, Jurgen Klopp had designs on reclaiming top spot in the Premier League after Manchester City and Arsenal both claimed victories in the title race on Saturday.
The hosts managed a bright start as Alejandro Garnacho rounded Caoimhim Kelleher from Bruno Fernandes’ pass and tapped into an empty net, only for the offside flag to go up. An open first five minutes then saw Liverpool go close as Andre Onana charged down Dominik Szoboszlai to keep out the Hungarian’s goal-bound effort.
The visitors began to find their rhythm and kept finding Szoboszlai in space, though he lashed over from the edge of the box and then scuffed Andy Robertson’s low cross wide.
Liverpool got the opening goal their dominance deserved in what surely must have been infuriating fashion for Ten Hag. Static defending from a home corner allowed Darwin Nunez to flick Szoboszlai’s corner on for Diaz, who hooked in from close range.
The warning signs were flashing all over before the Colombian converted but Man Utd couldn’t offer any response in attack, failing to muster a single shot in comparison to Liverpool’s 15 during the opening 45 minutes.
Casemiro did head a Fernandes free-kick back across goal but no United player was on hand to tap in, while Mohamed Salah brought a save out of Onana with a curler aimed towards the far corner.
The Cameroonian stopper was on hand again to deny Salah once more before Nunez’s dipping effort from distance whizzed just over the bar. There were further chances for Salah and Diaz before the half ended with Liverpool on top and much improvement needed from Man Utd.
The second period opened with a similar pattern as Nunez saw a fierce strike well blocked by Harry Maguire, but an incomprehensible error from Jarell Quansah turned the match on its head.
The 21-year-old defender’s loose pass was pounced on by Fernandes, whose shot from just inside the centre circle zipped past Kelleher’s outstretched arm and in to make it 1-1.
The goal was United’s first shot of the game and the momentum swung in their favour shortly afterwards as Garnacho forced a corner with a shot that deflected off Virgil van Dijk. Casemiro then reached to convert Marcus Rashford’s cross but Kelleher got there first.
United’s equaliser had undoubtedly shaken Liverpool and their title hopes were dealt another blow as emerging star Mainoo made his mark.
The 18-year-old England international latched onto Casemiro’s hoof upfield and worked the ball out wide, eventually getting it back from Aaron Wan-Bissaka. Setting himself with a left-footed touch, Maino turned and whipped an instantly iconic pearler into the far corner.
That goal prompted changes from Klopp as Cody Gakpo and Harvey Elliott entered proceedings shortly after Curtis Jones and Joe Gomez had also come on. Gomez nearly forced an own goal off Maguire with a volley, but his strike was held comfortably by Onana.
Liverpool were undoubtedly nervy and might have struggled to break through again had makeshift left-back Wan-Bissaka not carelessly brought down Elliott in the box. His slide was penalised by Anthony Taylor, allowing Salah to step up from the penalty spot and score his 14th goal against Man Utd.
GK: Andre Onana – 7/10 – A couple of decent saves which kept United in the game during the first half. Stood tall in the second period but couldn’t stop Salah’s penalty.
RB: Diogo Dalot – 7/10 – Put in a robust defensive performance against Diaz, rarely coming out second-best in wide areas.
CB: Willy Kambwala – 6/10 – Looked to gee up the home crowd after making some important recovery challenges.
CB: Harry Maguire – 7/10 – Needed to organise his defence better when Liverpool went ahead but produced some blocks to keep the visitors at bay later on.
LB: Aaron Wan-Bissaka – 6/10 – Did well enough to hold Salah up whenever the winger tried to drive forward and got the assist for Mainoo’s strike. Mindless challenge on Elliott gifted Liverpool the equaliser.
CM: Casemiro – 7/10 – A much more coordinated performance from the Brazilian after diving all over the pace against Chelsea. His challenges were largely well calculated
CM: Kobbie Mainoo – 8/10 – Snapped into plenty of challenges, not always coming out on top but galvanising the home crowd in the process. His second Premier League goal was a beauty
RW: Alejandro Garnacho – 6/10 – Had an early goal chalked off for offside and didn’t look at his most menacing until the second half.
AM: Bruno Fernandes – 8/10 – Bagged his 50th Premier League goal for Man Utd with the ultimate show of composure, spotting Kelleher off his line.
LW: Marcus Rashford – 6/10 – Looked keen to make the most of United’s counters but the game didn’t open up for Rashford before his injury-enforced substitution.
ST: Rasmus Hojlund – 6/10 – Got his head down for a few driving runs but definitive scoring opportunities evaded him.
SUB: Antony (66′ for Rashford) – 6/10
SUB: Sofyan Amrabat (79′ for Garnacho) – 5/10
SUB: Mason Mount (85′ for Mainoo) – N/A
Subs not used: Altay Bayindir, Harry Amass, Habeeb Ogunneye, Amad Diallo, Christian Eriksen, Omari Forson.
Erik ten Hag – 6/10 – Looked like his side were on a hiding to nothing in the first 45 minutes but saw his side capitalise on some Liverpool mistakes and United were eventually worthy of their point.
GK: Caoimhim Kelleher – 6/10 – Probably shouldn’t have been so far off line when Fernandes struck.
RB: Conor Bradley – 6/10 – Booked early on for a late challenge on Rashford during a counter-attack.
CB: Jarell Quansah – 5/10 – Made a poor mistake which cost his side the lead and galvanised the home crowd.
CB: Virgil van Dijk – 6/10 – Not helped by a few overeager performances in the back line. Dealt well with Hojlund for the majority of the contest.
LB: Andy Robertson – 7/10 – Found joy consistently in the first half down the left and got the ball forward accurately
CM: Alexis Mac Allister – 7/10 – Couldn’t conjure up any magical assists or strikes from distance. All action in defence, both in the air and on the deck.
CM: Wataru Endo – 6/10 – Helped Liverpool keep Man Utd at arm’s length in the first half but lost more control after the freak equaliser.
CM: Dominik Szoboszlai – 6/10 – Good chances kept landing at the midfielder’s feet but he couldn’t make the most of them.
RW: Mohamed Salah – 7/10 – Had a few sighters in the first half and kept his nerve to bring Liverpool level from the spot.
ST: Darwin Nunez – 7/10 – Got another goal contribution by setting up Diaz from a corner. Provoked some fear in the United defence before being hauled off.
LW: Luis Diaz – 8/10 – In the right place to convert Nunez’s flick. Might have created more with a couple of openings on another day.
SUB: Joe Gomez (66′ for Bradley) – 6/10
SUB: Curtis Jones (66′ for Szoboszlai) – 5/10
SUB: Cody Gakpo (68′ for Nunez) – 5/10
SUB: Harvey Elliott (69′ for Endo) – 7/10 – Forced a bad challenge from Wan-Bissaka with his direct running.
Subs not used: Adrian, Ibrahima Konate, Kostas Tsimikas, Ryan Gravenberch, Jayden Danns.
Jurgen Klopp – 6/10 – His team probably should have been out of sight but couldn’t take their chances. Changes did at least prompt a moment of madness in the United defence to get Liverpool level again.
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