Additional reporting by Matt Gault.
Manchester United claimed three very big points on Saturday afternoon.
Jose Mourinho’s side beat Liverpool 2-1 thanks to two goals from Marcus Rashford to open-up a five-point lead over their rivals in second place.
Here are five talking points from the game:
Mourinho gets it right
A ‘Mourinho masterclass’ is a term has been incorrectly used in relation to Jose Mourinho setting-up United for a goalless draw in away games, often followed by praise for his ‘pragmatism’. On those occasions, it was neither a ‘masterclass’ or a display of ‘pragmatism’, but rather a needlessly defensive approach with some luck due to David de Gea saving them – like, for example, against Sevilla a few weeks ago.
However, the victory over Liverpool on Saturday was a ‘masterclass’, particularly in the first-half. Liverpool have been vulnerable at right-back at times this season, and Trent Alexander-Arnold was noticeably targeted from the first-whistle. Just before the first goal after 14 minutes, 66 percent of United’s attacks had come down their left-hand side, exploiting Liverpool’s weakness on the right-side of their defence. Alexander-Arnold was exposed for Marcus Rashford’s first goal, and Dejan Lovren was poor for the second goal, both undone by a rudimentary goal-kick and some good centre-forward work by Romelu Lukaku.
Bringing Rashford back into the starting line-up for this game was a shrewd move by Mourinho. He could have stuck with Alexis Sanchez wide-left but was repaid with two goals by giving Rashford his first Premier League start in 2018. The 20-year-old has now scored seven of his 16 Premier League goals against teams in the top six clubs and is clearly a player for the big occasion.
Mourinho’s team only had two shots on target in the game and they were the two goals. Other than Eric Bailly’s own-goal, it was a perfect afternoon for the United manager, and a display his supporters will argue vindicates his approach. His long-ball tactics proved very effective against a team that presses high with vulnerabilities in defence. While retreating into a back-six with two defensive midfielders in front of them would be too much for most sides to break down – never mind a midfield with Oxlade-Chamberlain.
This was arguably the most impressive victory of Mourinho’s time at Old Trafford so far.
Oxlade-Chamberlain struggles
Oxlade-Chamberlain has received praise for his performances in recent weeks, but those displays came against opponents Liverpool would have beaten with or without him on the pitch. His performance at Old Trafford showed his true level, and how far he is from being an effective central midfielder at an elite level.
Oxlade-Chamberlain was dreadful. He was awful in possession, he needlessly misplaced several passes and lost the ball 19 times in the game. Even before United took the lead, the England midfielder was sloppy on the ball. His limitations were really exposed when United retreated to their 18-yard line and challenged Liverpool to break them down. Oxlade-Chamberlain plodded around, looking bemused and proved completely incapable of playing any incisive passes.
There are serious questions to be asked about Liverpool’s midfield going forward. Can they realistically challenge for major honours with a player of Oxlade-Chamberlain’s quality in the midfield? He’s an athlete, but they need someone with craft. Some might argue that he’ll improve, that he’s young and he can overcome the current deficiencies in his game. However, he’s 25 in August, he can no longer be considered a young footballer and it’s extremely unlikely that’ll he’ll develop the technique and game intelligence required to be a top central midfield player. A useful squad player for Klopp, but he looked out of his depth on Saturday.
Young did brilliantly to keep Salah quiet
You would have forgiven Ashley Young for being anxious up against Mohamed Salah. The Egyptian is usually incredibly elusive but the experienced United left-back kept him in check remarkably well at Old Trafford. Young’s concentration and work-rate remained undimmed throughout and it proved enough to reduce Salah to one of his quietest games in a Liverpool shirt.
Young was exceptional. The 32-year-old won all nine of his duels, made five clearances and landed four out of six attempted tackles. He also made four interceptions and Jose Mourinho will have been delighted with his focus and positional discipline until the final whistle. (Matt Gault).
United didn’t seem to miss Pogba that much
When it was confirmed that Paul Pogba was ruled out through injury, United fans perhaps feared the lack of creativity in their midfield. However, lining up with a 4-2-3-1 allowed Alexis Sanchez and Juan Mata to drift into central areas and remain involved, with Scott McTominay and Nemanja Matic both putting in commanding displays to shield the defence.
It seemed like a game that may have added ammunition to Pogba’s critics. Without the Frenchman’s raking passes and galloping drives from deep, United looked a lot more cohesive and solid. McTominay and Matic were extremely well-organised so it certainly would have been interesting to see how Pogba would have coped when United were under the cosh in the second half. (MG).
Rashford makes decisive impact in rare start
It had been a gnawing issue for Mourinho. Since Sanchez’s arrival from Arsenal, Rashford has had to be content with a place on the bench. Indeed, this was the 20-year-old’s first Premier League start since December 30 but he seized an opportunity to stake his claim for a regular starting berth with two cracking finishes.
Sanchez, once again, did not enjoy his finest game, but it mattered little in the grand scheme as Rashford displayed his clinical edge to fire United into a 2-0 lead before half-time.
The first was Rashford in a nutshell, too, racing onto Romelu Lukaku’s flicked-on header, producing a nice piece of skill to change direction and beat Alexander Trent-Arnold before lashing a right-footed shot into the far corner. His second came thanks to his predatory instincts, slotting home after Virgil van Dijk had failed to clear the danger.
The tempo of United’s game quickened markedly when Rashford was introduced against Crystal Palace and, following his deadly display here, he will surely line out on Tuesday as United bid to reach the last eight of the Champions League. (MG).
