Manchester United showed determination and composure to secure a valuable 2-2 draw away from home against Liverpool on Sunday evening.
Despite his side falling 2-1 behind, Man United manager Ruben Amorim showed some tact by bringing on substitute Alejandro Garnacho, who assisted Amad Diallo to secure a late equaliser against the odds.
Barely a minute in, disaster struck for United as Kobbie Mainoo fell to the ground upon jockeying with Ryan Gravenberch. Mainoo’s head was then struck by the Liverpool midfielder’s boot. Fortunately, he was able to rise to his feet and continue the match.
While United had a bright start to the match with some high pressing and smooth passing, Liverpool almost penetrated when a Mohamed Salah cross was blocked by Harry Maguire. Trent Alexander-Arnold fired in the corner, which United did well to dispose of.
12 minutes in, Manuel Ugarte made a rough tackle on Cody Gakpo, taking his leg out. He was fortunate to not receive a booking from referee Michael Oliver.
Alexander-Arnold attempted a long-range effort after the restart, which Lisandro Martinez did well to block. Luis Diaz fired the rebound over the top, bringing an end to the hosts’ most threatening attack so far.
In the 14th minute, Liverpool were almost through again when Diaz threaded a through ball to Gakpo, whose shot drifted wide of the far post. United’s defence needed to improve their focus to keep out the hosts’ attack.
Moments later, Alexis Mac Allister got on the end of a lethal cross from Salah. His volley was bravely parried out by Onana for a corner. The Cameroonian shot-stopper produced a fine catch to quash the danger of the cross that followed.
Before the 20th minute, United got their first close goalscoring opportunity. On a quick counter, Diogo Dalot fired a cross to Amad Diallo in the centre, who, unfortunately, was too advanced to connect well with the ball. His header went back, with Mainoo’s follow-up shot being deflected out for a corner.
Dalot received a totally unnecessary yellow card for holding onto Salah even though he was out of possession. Rash behaviour by the full-back.
Near the half-hour mark, Gravenberch attempted a speculative effort that veered just wide of the left post, allowing an unwitting United to breathe a sigh of relief.
As half-time approached, United were knocking on the door of Liverpool’s defence. A threatening through ball by Fernandes was put out for a corner.
Hojlund got on the end of a threatening long ball, firing his shot into the keeper. It was the closest scoring opportunity United had of the game so far.
It was an encouraging first-half performance from United, with the game remaining goalless following a cagey first half at Anfield.
With two minutes of added time, both sides had a little more time to find a lead before the break. Liverpool came close to scoring as the corner kick came in, only for Onana to clear inches from the line.
United did well to catch Liverpool on a counter, with Dalot attempting a shot only for Virgil van Dijk to send the ball out for a corner. Unfortunately, the hosts’ defence held strong, disposing of the corner with ease.
Noussair did well to block a cross from Andrew Robertson, handing the hosts a corner after the restart.
Six minutes after the break, United grabbed the lead. Fernandes did brilliantly to cut into the centre, dribbling past the defence to then thread a through ball to Lisandro Martinez, who raced into the box. The unlikely scorer did superbly to fire the ball past the keeper and hand United a precious lead against the Premier League leaders.
Soon after the kick-off, Amad was shown a yellow card related to an incident related to United’s wild celebrations. It was later confirmed that he kicked the ball into the crowd during the celebrations.
Mainoo took a promising shot, which Alisson parried out for a corner.
In the 59th minute, Liverpool equalised. It took just six minutes for Gakpo to fire a blistering shot into the far corner, leaving Onana with no chance of denying him. Gakpo sent De Ligt to the ground as he quickly switched directions before taking his shot.
Hojlund came close to getting on the end of a Dalot cross, only for Van Dijk to get there first and clear for a corner. While the cross was ineffective, United launched another counter, earning yet another corner kick. Fernandes passed short to Amad, whose cross was easily blocked by the stubborn defence.
With little over 23 minutes to play, the referee was directed to the pitchside monitor to evaluate a VAR decision. De Ligt’s arm struck the ball in the box seconds before, stopping a clear goalscoring opportunity. He took quick to award Liverpool a penalty.
Salah stepped up to take the spot kick. While Onana did superbly to get a glove on the ball, it went in, handing the hosts a 2-1 lead with 20 minutes left to play.
Moments after the kick-off, Liverpool forced a corner as Martinez deflected the ball out of danger. The game was momentarily paused as Mainoo came off for Alejandro Garnacho. Clearly, United manager Ruben Amorim wanted to up the attacking pressure to find an equaliser.
In the 73rd minute, Maguire was brandished a yellow card for a foul on Salah near the edge of the box.
11 minutes before the final whistle, Amad got United back in the game. Garnacho pulled back a pass to Amad in the box, who found the back of the net with his first shot. 2-2 in front of a frustrated Anfield crowd.
Garnacho raced back into the box after the restart, yet that time, Van Dijk was able to block the pass, sending it out for a United corner.
In the 83rd minute, De Ligt was susbtituted off for Leny Yoro. Just three minutes later, Joshua Zirkzee came on for Hojlund.
Just two minutes before time, United earned a corner. Fernandes passed a short ball to Amad, who laid the ball back to Fernandes, whose shot was parried out for another corner.
Liverpool dealt with the successive cross, launching a rapid counter which saw Onana expertly stop a close-range shot by Diogo Jota. Robertson’s corner cross found Mac Allister, however, Onana did well to catch the header.
With seven minutes of stoppage time, United were determined to find a winner, pressing the hosts in the final third.
In the same breath, Liverpool were attempting counter after counter. It was end-to-end action as the match headed towards its exciting conclusion.
In the 94th minute, the home side earned a corner.
Amad did excellently to clear the cross from Robertson, extinguishing the danger.
With less than two minutes of added time remaining, Robertson fouled Amad, handing United a threatening free kick.
30 seconds remaining, and United missed a grand opportunity to score a last-gasp winner. Zirkzee passed the ball to Maguire in the centre of the box, who ballooned his effort over the top.
Level the game remained after a thrilling match filled with non-stop action. United showed grit, determination, and character to come away with a valuable point despite being underdogs. Perhaps Amorim’s project is gaining momentum despite a slow start to life at United.
Starting XI: Onana, Mazraoui, De Ligt, Maguire, Martinez, Fernandes, Hojlund, Amad, Dalot, Ugarte, Mainoo
Subs: Garnacho, Yoro, Zirkzee
Featured image Carl Recine via Getty Images
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