On Sunday, January 17th, Liverpool and Manchester United took to the field to play in the Premier League and meet for the first time this year and season. This was a critical game that could have affected the rankings for the Premier League title. After a long match between the two groups, the game resulted in a tie, leaving Manchester United still first and dropping Liverpool to fourth.
Defensively, each squad did exactly what they needed to do: keep the ball out of their zone. They stepped up and barely allowed any shots on the net. Liverpool took 17 shots, only having 3 on target, and Man United attempted 8, hitting 4 accurately. The offense, however, was a different story. Neither team could click or get off many passes before turning the ball over or wasting it away. Manchester United struggled to find the back of the net and called offsides 8 times in the game. Liverpool also had complete control of the ball and held possession for 66% of the game.
Liverpool fans looked for Mohamed Salah to win it for the team, boosting them the rankings; unfortunately, that did not happen. In fact, Salah has not scored a goal in the Premier League in his last 5 matches. In this game, he took 3 opportunities, but could not finish any of them. As Manchester supporters had their eyes on Anthony Martial, who was last season’s top scorer for his team with 23 goals. This season he has only managed 2 so far. Edinson Cavani was substituted for the rest of the match due to this.
It appears the most valuable players on the field were the goalkeepers for each team. Neither team was super dangerous the whole game. The goalies were the real “standout.” Alisson (Liverpool) stopped all 4 shots taken his way, and David de Gea (Man United) denied the 3 shots on target from his opponents. They did not have much work to do, but they kept their squad alive when the other team was dangerous. If Liverpool had won this match, they would have moved up to second place in the league, leaving them only one point behind Manchester United and be that much closer to being Premier League Champions.
After the match at a press conference, Liverpool’s head coach Jurgen Klopp went on to explain his thoughts on his team’s performance, claiming, “I think the performance was good enough to win it, but to win a game you have to score goals and we didn’t do that…” Klopp had also explained that there is “no easy explanation” for his team’s lack of goals. While Manchester United’s coach, Solskjaer, has yet to comment on Manchester’s performance.
Even though the game ended in a way neither team wanted it to, Manchester United is optimistic about the future games ahead. With 11 wins and only 3 losses under their belt, they are looking to keep their winning streak alive and hopefully take home the League title for the first time since the 2012-2013 season.
Next Up
Manchester United will take on Fulham at home on Wednesday, January 20th at 3:15 ET. Craven Cottage Stadium is where this match will take place. The channels broadcasting this game have not yet to be determined. Liverpool will go up against Burnley on the road at Anfield Stadium on January 21st at 3:00 ET. It is not clear what channels will show this match.
