Liverpool vs Man United ended in 1-1 draw; Eight talking points

Jurgen Klopp was not happy about VAR decison
Jurgen Klopp was not happy about VAR decison

The winning streak of Liverpool comes to an end as they managed to clinch a draw against Manchester United at Old Trafford. The match started with European champion Liverpool as a massive favourite against Manchester United, who is at 12th place in the Premier League table during this season.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s beleaguered side took the lead through Marcus Rashford’s controversial opener, with Liverpool claiming Divock Origi was fouled prior to goal. United defended doggedly to hang on to its lead, yet its hard work was undone when it allowed substitute Adam Lallana to tap home from Andy Robertson’s low cross in the 85th minute.

1. Surprising Line up

Earlier it was reported that Manchester United would start this match without David de Gea in Goal and Paul Pogba. But de Gea was fit before the match and included in the first eleven. The match also saw Manchester began with the 3-4-1-2 system. Victor Lindelöf, Harry Maguire, and Marcos Rojo started to as back, with Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Ashley Young as wingers. This puzzled many, including perhaps Jurgen Klopp. Liverpool were not able to create many chances; they would have liked to create. They had no clue till the 85th minute of the match. Though Firmino tested de Gea twice in the second half.

Liverpool rested Mo Salah for this match. Mo Salah started 50 out of 51 matches for Liverpool. He is expected to start against Genk in Champions League match mid-week. Allison began after a long time, and Matip was also brought in as center back. Divock Origi, who had brilliant Champions League 2018-19, started in place of Salah but looked unimpressive. Liverpool missed Salah’s service throughout. He effectively switched to a 4-2-4 in which Oxlade-Chamberlain and Lallana made a difference in wide areas, and the battle lines were drawn

2. Man United played as per plan

Manchester United, not only put an unconventional line up to start with, they followed their game plan up to the hilt, except one occasion in the end. Liverpool was not allowed to break into the Manchester box, barring very few occasions. Young Manchester United showed a very disciplined side while defending. They played counter-attack based football and did not allow Liverpool to exploit any defensive errors.