The spoils were shared at Anfield on Sunday afternoon as Liverpool and a much-improved Manchester United played out a frantic 2-2 draw.
With the two historic giants entering the contest in drastically different form, most expected a Liverpool victory at Anfield. However, United refused to show the incompetence they showed against Newcastle as they produced an excellent first 45 minutes.
They blocked out the crowd from the start and quickly adapted to the competition. The hosts had their moments with Cody Gakpo coming closest in the opening 30 minutes, but United were a persistent threat down Liverpool’s right and twice took the lead through Diogo Dalot and Rasmus Hojlund. After Amad Diallo missed a good cross from Dalot, Alisson denied Hojlund one on one.
As a result, both teams went into halftime tied.
United’s momentum continued in the second half and they got a deserved first goal from an unlikely source. Lisandro Martínez’s shot after a clever reverse pass from Bruno Fernandes was chic, but his lead lasted only a matter of minutes. Gakpo, in top form, leveled the match with an equally brilliant shot after setting up Matthijs de Ligt.
De Ligt was once again the defensive protagonist as the Reds overturned their deficit from the penalty spot. The Dutchman’s raised hand following a Mac Allister header was not seen by Michael Oliver, but VAR intervened to award Liverpool a penalty. Mohamed Salah was on hand to finish from 12 yards.
However, the impressive visitors refused to go away and restored parity to set up a thrilling finale. After getting in behind again on the Liverpool right, Amad, one of the standouts so far under Amorim, coolly converted the equaliser.
The closing was absolutely thrilling and either side could have won to the death. Harry Maguire missed a golden opportunity with the last kick. In the end, it was just one point for Liverpool, who failed to take advantage of Arsenal’s draw at Brighton on Saturday.
|
Player |
Ratings |
|---|---|
|
GK: alison |
5.7/10 |
|
RB: Trent Alexander-Arnold |
6.7/10 |
|
CB: Ibrahima Konate |
7.5/10 |
|
CB: Virgil van Dijk |
6.5/10 |
|
Pound: Andy Robertson |
6.5/10 |
|
CENTIMETER: Ryan Gravenberg |
6.9/10 |
|
CENTIMETER: Alexis MacAllister |
7.8/10 |
|
SOY: Curtis Jones |
6.5/10 |
|
HE: Mohamed Salah |
7.7/10 |
|
CALL: Luis Diaz |
6.4/10 |
|
LW: Cody Steel |
7.7/10 |
|
SUB: Darwin Núñez (60′ for Díaz) |
6.4/10 |
|
SUB: Diogo Jota (60′ for Jones) |
6.1/10 |
|
SUB: Conor Bradley (58′ for Alexander-Arnold) |
6.4/10 |
|
SUB: Harvey Elliott (86′ for Acero) |
6.1/10 |
Unused substitutes: Caoimhin Kelleher (GK), James McConnell, Jayden Danns, Wataru Endo, Federico Chiesa, Kostas Tsimikas and Jarell Quansah.
|
Player |
Classification |
|---|---|
|
GK: André Onana |
6.7/10 |
|
CB: Matthijs de Ligt |
6.2/10 |
|
CB: Harry Maguire |
7.1/10 |
|
CB: Lisandro Martínez |
8.2/10 |
|
RWB: Noussair Mazraoui |
7.2/10 |
|
CENTIMETER: Manuel Ugarte |
7.1/10 |
|
CENTIMETER: Kobbie Mainoo |
6.7/10 |
|
LWB: Diogo Dalot |
7.4/10 |
|
SOY: Bruno Fernandez |
8.7/10 |
|
SOY: Amad Diallo |
8.1/10 |
|
CALL: Rasmus Hojlund |
6.4/10 |
|
SUB: Alejandro Garnacho (72′ by Mainoo) |
6.0/10 |
|
SUB: Leny Yoro (83′ by De Ligt) |
6.1/10 |
|
SUB: Joshua Zirkzee (87′ for Hojlund) |
6.3/10 |
Unused substitutes: Altay Bayindir (Goalkeeper), Tyrell Malacia, Christian Eriksen, Casemiro, Antony, Toby Collyer.
