Manchester United 3-2 Liverpool: The Big Match Review

Liverpool's woes continue and now the Reds need 1 win in 3 games to seal Champions League qualification, after a chaotic 3-2 loss to Manchester United at Old Trafford. Despite glimpses of greatness in the second half, an abysmal first half from Arne Slot’s team made this another forgetful experience for the travelling fans.

The narrow scoreline may seem like it was a tight game, but the flow of the game paints a vivid picture of the issues Liverpool’s been facing this season. The travelling Redmen dominated possession (61%), made more passes (512) and had higher pass accuracy (88%), but the game was effectively lost in the first 15 minutes.

United’s two-goal lead came from defensive lapses by the visitors, with the second goal surviving a call for handball. Conceding twice that early definitely tilted the match away from Liverpool for the remainder of the first half. From there, however, the response after the break was quite impressive.

The momentum shifted after the restart, with The Reds progressing the ball more effectively and finding space between the lines. Star player, Dominik Szoboszlai, capitalised on this energy and a mistake from Amad Diallo with a goal early in the second half. Liverpool were showing glimpses of the good ol’ days, which United could not cope with, and continued creating high-quality chances and pushed the home defence deeper and deeper, leading to an equaliser.

But United held on and moved with purposes as Liverpool slipped up in midfield, giving Kobbie Mainoo the time and space to restore United’s lead. This perfectly summarised the game; Liverpool doing the hard work to control the game and create openings, only to be undone by isolated defensive moments and United’s finishing.

The closing moments of the game saw Liverpool continue to push, but that killer instinct the team was once known for was nowhere to be seen. Despite fresh legs in the form of Rio Ngumoha and Federico Chiesa, Liverpool could not find the third goal their performance arguably merited.

Defensively, this team needs to rethink their strategy. Conceding three goals is astounding for a team of Liverpool’s stature. The gap between their attacking metrics and defensive efficiency remains a concern at this stage of the season.

This loss makes number 18 for this season, tying the record for the most losses in a season set by Brendan Rodgers (we all know how that went). It also puts our Champions League hopes on the ropes, although a surprising Spurs win against Villa got us back in a good spot. 

Player Ratings

Freddie Woodman - 6

Curtis Jones - 8

Ibrahima Konate - 6

Virgil van Dijk - 6

Andy Robertson - 7

Ryan Gravenberch - 6

Alexis Mac Allister - 5

Jeremie Frimpong - 6

Cody Gakpo - 6.5

Dominik Szoboszlai - 8

Florian Wirtz - 7