Liverpool vs Man United: Five things we learnt from the crunch clash | OneFootball

Manchester United travelled to Anfield to face Liverpool, looking for their first win at the stadium since 2016.

The Red Devils started with Senne Lammens in nets but changed their back three with Harry Maguire, Matthijs de Ligt and Luke Shaw forming the defensive trio.

Amad started at right wing back and Diogo Dalot came in at left wing back.

Casemiro started alongside Bruno Fernandes in the middle of the park with Bryan Mbeumo and Mason Mount in front of them.

Matheus Cunha returned to the starting line up ahead of Benjamin Sesko, who dropped to the bench.

Here are five things we learnt from the match.

Perfect start

In all games but especially in the big matches, starting well is key. Especially for teams who can be as inconsistent as United.

Luckily, Mbeumo got his side off to the perfect start, slipping the ball past the Liverpool keeper after only 65 seconds in front of the Kop.

It was his third goal for United this season and the excellent example of coolness under pressure is exactly why the Red Devils went to so much effort to bring him in from Brentford in the summer.

Amad back in form

Amad was outstanding while he was fit last year, especially over the winter months, early on in Ruben Amorim’s tenure.

He struggled to start this season particularly well though and looked a little off the pace in matches in August.

Nonetheless, he was in better form versus Sunderland before the international break and he was a constant threat in the first half at Anfield.

It was his lovely ball that split the Liverpool defence for Mbeumo to score and everything United created came down the right hand side.

United fans will also be delighted to see his budding relationship with Mbeumo on the right wing taking off lately.

Directness continues

The Premier League has seen a shift this season with more teams playing directly and the growing importance of long throws and set pieces.

United made headlines against Sunderland for playing the ball long and refusing to spend much if any time building up from the back.

Senne Lammens continued this trend in his second match by regularly pelting the long up the field to avoid the Liverpool press.

It will be interesting to see if this is a temporary fix or a long term plan for Amorim’s United.

United too negative

The Red Devils kept out Liverpool until the 77th minute but Cody Gakpo finally got the host’s opening goal.

United found a better balance between defence and attack in the first half but failed to create any real chances in the second half, content to sit deep and hope.

It is understandable to defend more than usual at Anfield but United fans will believe that a braver United team could have tried to score the second and keep Liverpool away from goal.

Harry Maguire big goal again

The United defender has had his fair share of critics since moving to United in 2019.

Perhaps his defending has not been what was promised but his ability to score big goals from set pieces continues to delight fans.

Maguire was so close to winning it late on at Anfield in January but this time he made no mistake heading it in with minutes of normal time remaining.

Yet another huge goal added to a growing collection for the 32 year old.

Featured image Michael Reagan via Getty Images

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