Liverpool is entirely responsible for their own actions (again) after squandering numerous opportunities to defeat Manchester United. In the end, we had to rely on a late penalty to secure a 2-2 draw that puts us in second place.
Manchester United 2-2 Liverpool
Caoimhin Kelleher – 7 (out of 10)
faced exactly zero shots in the first half, with an xG of 0.0. Made a few of good roll-outs, but that was it.
He was then defeated, seemingly out of nowhere, from a distance of fifty yards or so. There was nothing he could do about it, and it was also fortunate that he missed the save because he was only a yard out of the box.
Fantastic claw-away shortly after, but once more had little chance when Mainoo curled one top corner. Basically, his defenders let him down by not performing their jobs. a last-minute attempt low to his left was saved.
Conor Bradley – 6
Despite being booked for a slide tackle on Rashford fairly early on, he controlled his defensive strategy for the first half. wasn’t really involved in the opening forty-five minutes of play until a nice press and pass right before the half set Diaz up for a blocked shot a little while later.
Jarell Quansah – 6
He promptly made up for an early possession error by making Bruno Fernandes look like a schoolboy. His excellent play continued with a pair more outstanding interceptions in the first half, further undermining the fact that this was once again his rookie campaign.
Then came the admonition that he is still a young child and that mistakes would be made; boy, was he chastised, no less, from fifty yards out.
fair enough, he bounced back nicely and hopefully learned the important lesson to never, ever lose focus.
Virgil van Dijk – 8
Sometimes, when Van Dijk crosses to set up a forward who appeared to have a chance to score, it really does seems unfair. Halfway through the first half, Rasmus Hojlund became his latest victim as the skipper ate up ground to shut him down, shift him outside the box, and put an end to any threat.
won a few aerials and made a few interceptions of through balls—all admirable Virgil feats.
Andy Robertson – 6
looked to be in the first half of the game at his best, showing off some galloping overlaps and deft cut-backs. He wasn’t just recklessly delivering from wide, but he also made excellent judgments to pick runners who were attacking the box.
Still a respectable performance, but perhaps they became a little weary after the break and lost some of their influence as the game went on.
Endo Wataru – 6
This was essentially the kind of performance you want from your defensive midfielder when you’re the superior side and have complete control of the game. It was both a respectable and uneventful game, and you would expect the strikers and center backs to perform as such.
That part didn’t quite happen.
Dominik Szoboszlai – 6
He had a terrific early chance, which was fortunately saved, after a terrific run. He then pinged another one over the bar and slid a third wide; he was the main threat for the Reds in the first quarter of the match, but he really ought to have scored one.
Even though United consistently gave the Hungarian space, he never quite managed to finish with the ideal ball or the best opportunities, and he faded considerably in the second half despite a few genuinely promising surges forward from deep.
Alexis Mac Allister – 8 – Man of the match
was fairly silent for the first two minutes or so, but we’ll overlook that because he rapidly emerged as the game’s greatest player for the majority of the first half.
Although it’s something we’ve been used to lately, he regretfully didn’t have a 30-yard thunderbolt in his laces this time.
Mohamed Salah – 5
Although he was a dangerous outlet in the first few minutes, his early shots were tame, especially one that soared high during a five-man counterattack at the half-hour mark.
He was unable to maintain play, combine in the box, or get clean efforts off in the second half, which was more disappointing overall. Nevertheless, he did score his penalty to tie the game.
He currently leads all players in the Premier League with 11 against this opponent. Still, he ought to have scored the game-winning goal later on and needs to get back on track as soon as possible.
Darwin Nunez – 6
was mostly silent during the early minutes, save for one pass that he was unable to complete to set up Diaz. However, halfway through the first half, he helped a teammate with a towering header off a corner.
led a couple of strong counterattacks and curled a nice effort just over the box, but he ought to have set up Szoboszlai soon after 1-1.
Luis Diaz – 7
Very nicely done half volley on the spin to score the first goal, but he also ought to have had an assist immediately after as Salah’s pass to him was just a bit behind him, allowing the Egyptian to score.
As usual, he worked tirelessly and made a few good runs with the ball to extend the game, but he was never able to have a clear shot on goal again. chopped down multiple times.
Substitute
Curtis Jones (6′) (on for Szoboszlai) – Aided in regaining composure and a modicum of intelligent play. Scheduled for a counter-stop challenge.
Joe Gomez (on at 65′ for Bradley) – 6 – Overall, pretty well, with a typical useless shot that never found the net.
Cody Gakpo (on for Nunez, 68′) – 6 – Overhit a couple passes before launching himself through four tackles in quick succession. Cody, please be consistent!
Harvey Elliott (8–8)–Excellent again coming off the bench (on for Endo, 68′). Won the penalty, added vigor and poise, and executed a nice combo play.
Not used substitutes: Danns, Adrian, Konate, Tsimikas, Gravenberch
Jurgen Klopp – 8
The manager used nearly all of his available strength and was rewarded with a commanding first forty-five minutes; however, as has been the case far too frequently this season, the team was not as clinical as it needed to be, even though they created a ton of excellent opportunities.
Had been furious at 1-1, not because of the error per se, but because we’d let it go away with us, after we’d gone from 15 shots to 0 before halftime, and then another few after the restart.
If he was annoyed then, though, it was nothing compared to our 2-1 deficit. After being utterly furious with a number of players, Klopp spent the next ten minutes lashing out at the team for their lack of control, compactness, and mental fortitude in stopping the needless pressure. Next, decisive substitutes.
We should crush these every time and fail for a ridiculous amount of reasons, yet we got enough of a response to score a point. Incompetence, over which Klopp has limited control.
