It’s indicative of Manchester United‘s performance in the enthralling 2-2 draw vs. Liverpool on Sunday that many United fans will have left the game feeling disappointed.
If crucial chances had been taken, the Red Devils would have left with all three points, and you wouldn’t say it wasn’t deserved either.
United manager Ruben Amorim displayed his frustration after the game: “We should get mad and disappointed- more than the other day, against Newcastle, Bournemouth and Nottingham Forest.
“Today we need to be really disappointed”.
Liverpool statistically have the best attack in the league, so there was always going to be a period when United would have to dig in and not concede early.
After staying in the game early on, rather than cowering and opting to defend for the majority of the game, United went punch for punch.
I can’t remember another big game in recent memory since possibly the Ole Gunnar Solskjaer days when United threatened in such a big game so often.
Noticeably, it wasn’t through a reliance on counter-attacks either which is something we’ve come to expect from this United team.
Amorim specifically targeted Liverpool’s right-hand side, exposing Trent Alexander Arnold in particular.
Whilst it was clear the English right-back had a bad game in general, United time and again overloaded Liverpool’s right wing effectively.
For Amad Diallo’s headed opportunity, one of the forwards in Bruno Fernandes came over to Diogo Dalot’s side of the pitch to attract a midfielder (Gravenberch) wide, as this happened, Dalot was quick to overlap Alexander-Arnold.
The movements of Rasmus Hojlund were just as crucial.
Though the Danish forward was criticised for missing a big chance and tussling too much with Ibrahima Konate and Virgil Van Dijk, his movements frequently pinned Konate back.
With the French defender needing to mark the striker, Fernandes could send Dalot in behind.
Though Diallo had run beyond the ball it was a warning to Liverpool.
As Liverpool pressed United’s deep build-up with five attackers, one of the United centre-backs in Harry Maguire or Lisandro Martinez were quick to send a ball in behind Liverpool’s back line to test their pace.
The ball in behind had varying degrees of success but the frequency at which United tried this tactic led you to believe this is something they spoke about doing before the game.
In the above example, it doesn’t work as Konate and Van Dijk easily bully Hojlund off the ball, however for Hojlund’s guilt-edged chance Fernandes once again looked to combine wide creating a 3v1 against Alexander-Arnold.
With Trent Alexander-Arnold occupied by Fernandes’ movements to his left, it created a cap for Hojlund to time his run in behind and the former Atalanta forward should’ve done better with his finish.
United looked comfortable in possession.
With a returning Fernandes and the excellent Manuel Ugarte in midfield shoring things up, they were also able to find space in behind Trent Alexander-Arnold passing the ball around patiently and not just from a direct long ball from defence.
Liverpool used Martinez as a pressing trigger, whenever the Argentinian received the ball as a left centre-back, Liverpool’s front line would press.
The out ball was to Dalot at full-back because whenever the ball was played wide to him, it would attract Alexander-Arnold high up the pitch.
With Fernandes moving into the half-space, it gave Dalot a central option to pass to and crucially United were out of the press with Liverpool’s right back caught in United’s half.
Liverpool’s press isn’t at the same intensity levels it was under Jurgen Klopp but with slight adjustments, it’s still been largely effective this season.
The game where United lost 3-0 comes to mind as two goals were conceded because of Liverpool trapping United in the press.
The fact that United were unperturbed and able to successfully play through Liverpool’s press was a huge positive.
In focusing on a particular weakness both aerially and in possession, United were able to be a constant threat and expose Liverpool.
In the current circumstances, with the club, manager and players under immense pressure, it was a bold move to not set a game plan veering towards stopping Liverpool from playing and instead recognising the importance of having a go at the league leaders.
It set the tone for a performance that contained fight, spirit and defiance, a rarity in a dire season for United.
Though Amorim will be frustrated with the result, as mentioned in his post-game interview, he will be more furious at United’s inability to produce such a performance in the previous losses.
Many had written United off before the game and had talked about avoiding embarrassment but the Red Devils proved the critics wrong.
Now, they must go one further and prove them wrong for the rest of the season, using the Liverpool game as a shot in the arm.
As captain Fernandes said after the game, if United can play like this against one of the best teams in the world, they should be able to produce the same levels week in, week out.
CLICK HERE TO JOIN THE CENTRE DEVILS WHATSAPP GROUP CHAT NOW!