Manchester United faced off against Liverpool at Anfield earlier this evening hoping to bounce back from their midweek defeat at Valencia. The home side put the United defence under a lot of pressure early on and opened the goal-scoring through Sadio Mane’s emphatic finish in the 24th minute. However, the Red Devils managed to come up with a response when Jesse Lingard capitalised on Alisson Becker’s mistake to give United some hope at half-time.
The Reds of Merseyside carved out chance after chance in the second half and finally made the crucial breakthrough when Xherdan Shaqiri came on to score with his deflected attempt. The Swiss sensation found the back of the net once again just seven minutes later when he made the points safe with another deflected strike to give Jurgen Klopp’s men a 3-1 win on the day.
Let’s take a look at how each Manchester United player performed during the game against the Merseyside giants.
GK: David De Gea – 6/10
The Spanish keeper made some excellent saves during the match but was let down by his defenders around him.
CB: Matteo Darmian – 5/10
He found it tough dealing with Sadio Mane’s pace throughout the game. Darmian will be hoping for better days in a Man United shirt.
CB: Eric Bailly – 6/10
He won some headers inside his own box but failed to close down the Liverpool attackers who found a lot of space in midfield.
CB: Victor Lindelöf – 6/10
The Swedish centre-back marked Mohamed Salah out of the game, but the Egyptian still got the final laugh when he set up Shaqiri’s second goal of the match.
RM: Diogo Dalot – 5/10
The youngster struggled to cope with the pace of the match and was rightfully substituted at half-time.
CM: Ander Herrera – 5/10
The Spaniard looked average at best in midfield and got overrun by the high press of the Liverpool midfielders.
CM: Nemanja Matic – 5/10
The Serbian tried his best to provide cover for the United backline, but the intensity of the Liverpool attacks completely frazzled him.
LM: Ashley Young – 5.5/10
He failed to make an impact going forward, but he did manage to get stuck in and win some 50-50 battles in midfield.
RW: Jesse Lingard – 6.5/10
The English international took his chance well when Alisson presented him with the ball, and he reacted fast to score with a smart finish from close range. Other than that occasion, he failed to get himself involved in the game which would disappoint Jose Mourinho.
LW: Marcus Rashford – 6/10
He tried to run the channels but was often outnumbered by the Liverpool defenders.
ST: Romelu Lukaku – 4/10
The Belgian looked like a forward out of form. He failed to keep hold of the ball which encouraged the Reds to push on in search of a winner.
Substitutes:
CM: Marouane Fellaini – 5/10
The Belgian won a few headers but lacked the quality required to pose a threat going forward.
LM: Anthony Martial – 5/10
He hardly got a touch of the ball after coming off the bench.
CAM: Juan Mata – N/A
Not enough time to make an impact.
