The North West derby has been the most appealing fixture in Premier League’s history over the years. Both Manchester United and Liverpool had a point to prove this afternoon to fulfil their respective season objectives. But the outing turned out to be an injury catastrophe which saw four forced substitutions within the first half. The tempo slowed down furthermore after the break, and it eventually ended up in a futile stalemate with neither side showing enough urgency to go for the kill.
Both Ole Gunnar Solskjær and Jurgen Klopp made some decisions which did not help their sides and instead made an adverse impact on the game. We have identified a few things as the major talking points from this fixture.
Bringing In Sturridge To Replace Injured Firmino
Roberto Firmino, though not in the best scoring form, was pressing high up the pitch and linking up with Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah to cause menace on the United backline. However, an ankle injury early on saw him leaving the pitch midway through the first half. Klopp had the likes of Xherdan Shaqiri and Divock Origi among the substitutes yet he opted for Daniel Sturridge with the majority of the game still to be played.
The Englishman, way past his prime, has rarely been handed more than a few minutes of playing time in the recent months. His inclusion stopped the pressing game entirely, and a lack of pace prevented him from combining with fellow attackers. Introducing Shaqiri in place of Sturridge would have been the best possible plan B with Salah moving in a ‘number 9’ role that earned him a great deal of success this season.
Milner Over Alexander-Arnold – Gamble That Did Not Pay Off
Klopp must have had the memory of Liverpool’s last visit to Old Trafford where Marcus Rashford humiliated Trent Alexander-Arnold from the left and grabbed a brace to seal a win. The gaffer, therefore, opted to line up veteran James Milner in the right-back role – a change of plan that went terribly wrong for the Merseysiders.
An early knock saw Rashford limping throughout, and thus he failed to threaten enough in the attacking third. Milner, pretty consistent so far, delivered one of his most below-par displays this afternoon while operating from the flank. His crosses and set-pieces were utterly disappointing. Milner also failed to link-up with his teammates and struggled to take the ball out of the defensive areas using the width of the pitch. Alexander-Arnold would have had a better impact with his pace, attacking flair, crosses as well as set-piece attributes.
Rushing In Lingard Despite Lacking Fitness
Successive injuries early on must have led to a panicked situation for Solskjær who made a costly error by bringing in Jesse Lingard to replace the injured Juan Mata. Although the Three Lions star recovered ahead of schedule from a hamstring strain, he was not ready to feature for the majority of such a highly-engaging contest.
The manager had Alexis Sanchez among the substitutes, yet he opted for Lingard who lasted for less than 20 minutes suffering a fresh injury and made way for the Chilean who should have been introduced early on. This would have left Solskjær with at least one substitution to apply for at a later stage of the game and sub off Rashford who was forced to play through pain.
The gaffer shifted Romelu Lukaku down the right flank to incorporate the Englishman centrally to reduce his workload which, in turn, resulted in a lack of sharpness in the final third.
