Without a goal there is no party and no leadership for Liverpool. The Reds had plenty of intensity and ambition in the English derby, but they lacked clarity and aim in attack against a very affected Manchester United, eliminated this week from Europe, who got a draw (0-0) from Anfield with a great exercise of resistance.
Ten Hag’s pupils, on a tightrope throughout the course, held out without conceding a goal after receiving 32 attempts on their goal, a record without scoring for those from Merseyside in the Premier. Nothing to do with the last precedent, Liverpool’s historic 7-0 victory. Despite going nine games without winning at Anfield and five years without scoring, the Red Devils, led in defense by Varane, celebrated a morale point that Arsenal also celebrated, once again first in the table by one point after doing their homework against Brighton (2-0).
A few seconds into the game, with Liverpool besieging the rival goal, few United fans would have hoped to come up with something positive. The intensity of Klopp’s team, a non-negotiable virtue for the German, hampered the visitors, unable to connect three passes. United crossed midfield on a few occasions before the break and stayed on the wire in defence.
The lack of finesse in the final meters was the only sin of the locals, especially a very active and erratic Szoboszlai. Despite this, Liverpool were able to go into the break with an advantage thanks to Onana, who left a dead ball in the area headed wide by Salah. The goalkeeper made up for it by stopping a header from Van Dijk in the best chance of the first half.
After the restart, Liverpool continued to persist and added shots on goal, most of them timid. In the other area, United reared its head. Garnacho, after a great pass from Mainoo and poor marking from Arnold, had a one-on-one match that failed in extremis on the side. The Englishman covered his defensive gaps with attacking forays, the most notable ending with a shot that grazed the post.
By then, the duel entered a phase of uncontrollability, with a frenetic exchange of transitions. Hojlund took advantage of the stage with a point-blank shot that Alisson cleared. It was the last attack attempt by a United team that ended up locked in their area. With Salah as the driving force, the locals tried until the end. Luis Díaz and Joe Gómez had the best chances before the final whistle. The Reds are second, tied on points with Emery’s Aston Villa, who overcame a tough game in Brentford with goals from Moreno and Watkins (1-2).
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Liverpool: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Tsimikas; Szoboszlai (Gómez, m.62), Endo, Gravenberch (Gakpo, m.61); Salah, Díaz (Jones, m.78) and Núñez (Elliott, m.78).
Manchester United: Onana; Dalot, Varane, Evans, Shaw; Mainoo (May, m.82), Amrabat, McTominay; Antony, Grenache (Rashford, m.71) and Hojlund.
Referee: Michael Oliver. He cautioned Núñez (22) and Endo (45 2) for Liverpool; and Mainoo (27), Amrabat (35), Shaw (88) and Rashford (92) for Manchester United. He sent off Dalot for protesting in the 94th minute.
Incidents: match corresponding to the seventeenth day of the Premier League, played at Anfield in front of 57,000 spectators.
