Manchester United vs Liverpool is the big English Premier League match that many people are waiting for on Sunday (24/2). But the duel ended in disappointment because no interesting action was expected to be presented from both teams.
Manchester United played with a 4-3-1-2 pattern in this match, while Liverpool demonstrated a 4-3-3 pattern which has been their mainstay. In the first round match, the big surprise that Manchester United received was not the attacks from Liverpool, but the storm of injury they experienced.
Ander Herrera collapsed in the 21st minute and was replaced by Andreas Pereira. Four minutes later, it was Juan Mata’s turn to be in trouble and had to be withdrawn to be replaced by Jesse Lingard. Lingard himself was only 18 minutes on the field before he was knocked down by injury and was replaced by Alexis Sanchez in the 43rd minute.
The three substitutions that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer had spent in the first half had a big role behind the difficulty Solskjaer changed the flow in the second half. Because substitutes were issued faster, Solskjaer could not make changes even though he found a gap or new thing that could be maximized in the second round.
From possession, Manchester United only got 36 percent, far behind Liverpool, who got 64 percent. Manchester United’s midfield lost dominantly compared to Liverpool. The absence of Herrera and Nemanja Matic to accompany Paul Pogba had a big influence on the poor performance of the Manchester United midfield.
Pogba seemed to be working hard, heaving when defending and attacking. But Pogba’s foresight in releasing bait is not too visible because he was actually several times wrong bait or even in a hurry to kick off the goal. Alexis Sanchez also did not contribute much. He was busy staying on the left side of Manchester United’s defense, but did not contribute much to the Manchester United offensive.
Marcus Rashford, who is relied upon to provide speed, is also unable to meet expectations. Rashford was seen in pain when violated by Jordan Henderson. Rashford several times seemed uncomfortable with his condition. However, Rashford could not leave because Manchester United had to play with 10 people because the substitution of players had already finished.
Romelu Lukaku, who is expected to be a target man, is not able to play his role properly due to the lack of ball supply. Lukaku then ‘succumbs’ and is willing to go down to pick up the ball. In the first half, Lukaku had made a trick and sent a lure on Lingard. If only Lingard did not try to pass Alisson and chose to kick off, maybe Manchester United could lead 1-0 in the first round.
Overall, Manchester United do not have a clear attacking method. Their attacks were often broken even in the second half they actually asked Lukaku to go wide to the left side of the Liverpool defense. Lukaku gave a good pass into the penalty area, but Chris Smalling was late in welcoming the bait.
Although the flow of the attack on Manchester United seemed to have no purpose because Lukaku, who became the target man, often widened and not many players quickly broke into the penalty box, but Manchester United were arguably the closest team to victory compared to Liverpool in this match.
From a free kick scheme. The ball was released towards the far post where Smalling ran. Smalling managed the ball and pushed the ball in front of the goal. Joel Matip who tried to drive the ball instead actually sent the ball into his own goal. Luckily for Liverpool, Smalling was declared in an offside position when receiving the ball.
When Solskjaer had witnessed three of his players lying down and had to be replaced in the first half, at that time Liverpool’s chances of winning were bigger than the hosts. Liverpool also lost Roberto Firmino, but overall the condition of Liverpool players is better than Manchester United. In possession in the midfield trio Georginio Wijnaldum, Jordan Henderson and Fabinho can play their roles well. This trio really can make Manchester United’s midfield confused.
But great possession in the midfield is not matched by good performance on the front lines. Mohammed Salah who operated on the left side of the Manchester United defense was defused by Luke Shaw. Salah’s individual action really can’t be seen throughout the 90 minutes of the match. When Juergen Klopp finally played a tactic by entering Xherdan Shaqiri to increase the attack, Liverpool also did not change much.
The record of one shot that leads to Manchester United is a picture of how bad the Liverpool front line is in the match. Divock Origi and Daniel Sturridge also did not provide a new way for the Liverpool attack.
Almost no dangerous attack released by Liverpool. The memorable Liverpool attack was a number of headers that were not on target from the corner soccer scheme and Joel Matip’s penetration into the penalty box which resulted in a free kick.
Liverpool must reflect on the results of this series. Not only because they are only one point ahead of Manchester City at the moment, but also because Liverpool have gone through two matches without scoring goals. Liverpool have mastered the flow of the ball, but they have no dangerous attacks. Manchester United, who have more trouble building attacks, have a more visible chance of winning.
But clearly, Manchester United’s duel against Liverpool at Old Trafford did not match expectations.
