It was not Liverpool’s day but the scoreline could have been much worse…
Liverpool travelled to Old Trafford as favourites but perhaps this title didn’t suit them. Right from the offset, they looked like they were about to endure a long game.
The game truly kicked off when Marcus Rashford scored the opening goal. It was a fine counter-attack which caught the Liverpool defenders off-guard. There were fast appeals for the goal to be overruled since there was a foul on Divock Origi in the buildup to the goal. However, Martin Atkinson was informed by VAR that the goal stood.
Much to Liverpool’s annoyance, the next highlight of the match involved VAR again. This time, it was Sadio Mane‘s goal that was put into question. The Senegalese winger ran into space and converted with aplomb past David de Gea. However, after a quick VAR check, it was easy to spot that Mane handballed in the process. VAR 2-0 Liverpool.
The game hit a stalemate for a large period of time after that. Understandably so, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer took a more defensive approach to the match than he originally started with. Manchester United defended deep and began to isolate many of Liverpool’s main players.
Then, in the second half, a miracle occurred. It was Adam Lallana that was called upon and his substitution paid dividends. He found space at the far post and converted a low-drilled Andrew Robertson cross. There was no need for VAR here and both sides were pushing for the winning goal. However, the game finished Manchester United 1-1 Liverpool.
Here are how the individuals fared for Liverpool…
GK: Alisson – 5/10
He took a bit of time to settle into the game which was to be expected. There was not much he could have done to prevent the Marcus Rashford goal but he will feel disappointed to not get a clean sheet on his return. In fairness, he didn’t have much to do after the first goal was scored.