Jose Mourinho hates football.
Everyone else looked at Liverpool v Manchester United at Anfield in a rare evening game between the bitter rivals, and saw the potential for a brilliant, entertaining and memorable game.
Mourinho looked at this fixture and said “No chance.” There was no way he was going to allow this to become a game. United came for a point, and left with a point. They slowed the game down, blocked-off the passing lanes and strangled the life out of the game.
Fair play to them, it’s not entertaining, it’s not the mythical “Manchester United way” but the tactics were effective tonight. Liverpool’s explosive start to the season has been somewhat tapered, but it shouldn’t affect them too much in the long run.
They’ll just want to move on from this game as quickly as possible, and be thankful they weren’t hit with a late sucker-punch from United.
Here’s how we rated the teams, if you’re still interested:
Liverpool
Loris Karius – 5
Identified as a possible weakness ahead of the game, the Liverpool ‘keeper was rarely tested in the first-half, but flapped at a number of crosses when he was put under pressure. A short, panicky pass under pressure from United’s forwards wouldn’t have filled his teammates with confidence either.
Nathaniel Clyne – 6
Hardly tested, but pushed forward when he could.
Joel Matip – 7
Comfortably dealt with the threat of Ibrahimovic. Solid.
Dejan Lovren – 6
Largely untested, but made a number of interceptions and appears to have settled into the team after a rocky season or two at Anfield.
James Milner – 5
Liverpool’s make-shift left-back was clearly targeted by United’s attack, and was beaten for pace a number of times by Rashford in the first half.
Jordan Henderson – 5
Anonymous.
Emre Can – 5
The German midfielder looked off the pace, sluggish and got a sharp rebuttal from the Anfield crowd when he slowed down one of Liverpool’s few sharp attacking passages of play mid-way through the first half.
He looked a few yards short during the first half, but improved in the second period, forcing a safe from David de Gea.
Philippe Coutinho – 6
Dropped deep in search of the ball, but couldn’t find a way through United’s congested midfield. Tested De Gea with a curling shot in the second-half.
Roberto Firmino – 5
This wasn’t a game for Firmino. The Brazilian thrives on space, and there was none as United barricaded themselves into their own-half. Showed flickers of danger, but a quiet night by his standards.
Sadio Mane – 5
Industrious, and ready to pounce on any error by United’s defence, but drifted on the edge of the game.
Daniel Sturridge – 4
Isolated, ineffectual and withdrawn just before the hour-mark.
Subs:
Adam Lallana – 5
Anonymous.
Manchester United
David de Gea – 7
Made a brilliant reaction save from Emre Can in the second-half, and one from Coutinho but was otherwise untested.
Antonio Valencia – 7
Worked hard and went on a rampaging run (by the standards of this game) in the second-half. He no longer looks like a right winger playing right-back, and made a brilliant last-ditch tackle to foil Coutinho late in the game.
Eric Bailly – 6
Solid, aggressive and comfortable in possession.
Chris Smalling – 6
See above.
Daley Blind – 6
Was tidy in possession as always, but also won a number of challenges. A decent enough performance, even if he rarely ventured forward and was caught out of possession by Sadio Mane in the second-half.
Marouane Fellaini – 5
Diligent, energetic and capable of fetching the ball, like a loyal Labrador. Fellaini was also surprisingly okay in possession
Paul Pogba – 5
Awkward and ineffectual, Pogba lost the ball three times in the first-half, more than any other player. The 23-year-old was the most advanced of United’s midfielders, relieved of doing the donkey by the presence of Fellaini and Herrera, but floated on the edge of the game, making little impact.
His cross for Ibrahimovic in the second-half should have resulted in an assist, but the game completely passed him by.
Paul Pogba completed just 2 forward passes in the opening 40 minutes vs. Liverpool.
Struggling to get in the game so far. pic.twitter.com/0y7JZZUlHV
— Squawka (@Squawka) October 17, 2016
Ashley Young – 5
Worked hard, tracked back and provided cover for Blind. He could’ve showed more ambition going forward though, and failed to link up with Blind.
Ander Herrera – 8 (Man of the Match)
The pick of United’s midfield, Herrera worked very hard and didn’t allow any easy route through for Liverpool’s passing. He also won a number of tackles and looked to get ball forward when the chance presented itself.
Marcus Rashford – 5
His energy and enthusiasm was on show early in the game, as he took every chance he could to run at Milner. However, Rashford’s decision making was questionable at times. The 18-year-old gave the ball away a number of times in the first half in quick succession.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic – 5
Isolated, but missed a sitter early in the second half, spooning his header wide of the target.
Subs:
Wayne Rooney – N/A
Not on long enough to rate, which arguably makes this his best performance in a while.
Luke Shaw – N/A
Not on long enough to rate.
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