Manchester United and Liverpool played out a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford.
Liverpool took the lead through James Milner’s first-half penalty.
United, chasing an equaliser, went very direct and Zlatan Ibrahimovic levelled the game late-on.
Paul Pogba was terrible, and the result was probably the right one. Here’s how we rated the players.
Manchester United
David de Gea – 7
Could do little about Miler’s penalty and was excellent in possession. His distribution was top class.
Antonio Valencia – 6
Had the freedom to push forward with Liverpool playing a narrow diamond. Always an option for United’s attack.
Marcos Rojo – 5
Rojo and Jones have been in great form for United since forging their unlikely partnership. However, their uneasy alliance was always going to receive their biggest test against Klopp’s high-pressing side.
Roberto Firmino and Adam Lallana put United’s central defence under pressure midway through the first-half, and from the subsequent corner, Pogba had a brain fart and Liverpool scored from the penalty.
Rojo slightly improved as the game went-on.
Phil Jones – 7
Caught-out for the corner that led to Liverpool’s goal, but improved as the game went-on. He made a number of clearances, interceptions and put his body on the line.
Matteo Darmian – 5
A quiet afternoon.
Michael Carrick – 5
United’s captain on the day struggled to get into the game in the opening stages. The match was being played at a frantic pace, with Liverpool in the ascendancy, Carrick was unable to take control of proceedings and get United playing as he so often does. Subbed-off at half-time for Rooney.
Ander Herrera – 7
United’s best player in the first-half. Herrera pressed high, made a number of interceptions, kept hold of the ball and was intelligent in possession. He also set-up United’s best chance of the first-half with a clever through ball for Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
Paul Pogba – 3
Conceded the penalty and can have few complaints about the decision. Pogba was flailing with his arms in the penalty area and appeared to trying to protecting his face rather than attack the ball. It summed up the first half performance from the world’s most expensive player.
Pogba was terrible. He seemed confused and disorientated. His first touch and passing was extremely loose and he looked like he was doing a bad impression of Marouane Fellaini.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan – 6
Arguably should’ve scored after being played in by Herrera. Drifted inside in the second-half, and looked to link-up with his teammates, but found space hard to come-by.
Anthony Martial – 6
Showed off some clever flicks and tricks early in the first-half. He looked very dangerous but arguably faded slightly as the game went-on.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic – 7
Isolated for the whole game, and then he pops up with United’s equaliser with an unorthodox header. Vintage Zlatan.
Substitutes:
Wayne Rooney – 6
Did well for United’s equaliser, crossing for Fellaini, but his touch often let him down after coming on at half-time.
Juan Mata – N/A
Wasn’t involved enough to be rated.
Maurouanne Fellaini – 5
Ran around, and was dangerous in possession. Dangerous to his own team because of inability to pass the ball to a teammate.
Then he was involved in United’s equaliser, and his chaotic presence on the pitch was justified.
Liverpool
Simon Mignolet – 7
Made two excellent saves in the first-half and looked an obvious upgrade on Loris Karius. He even received a compliment from Gary Neville. However, he was questionable for United’s equaliser.
Trent Alexander-Arnold – 5
Caught in possession by Martial early in the second-half, but Mkhitaryan couldn’t score an equaliser after being played through by Ibrahimovic. Alexander-Arnold looks like a talented player, but had some nervous moments today.
Ragnar Klavan – 5
Caught napping when Herrera played in Mkhitaryan, but United couldn’t punish Klavan’s mistake. His positioning was questionable.
Dejan Lovren – 8
Liverpool’s defence featured an 18-year-old, a midfielder, a journeyman Estonian defender and a goalkeeper few trust. Lovren was the lynchpin for this patched-up backline. The Croatian was solid and comfortably dealt with the threat from Zlatan. For most of the game, anyway.
James Milner – 7
Took his penalty well, and was comfortable in possession. Had a tough test against Mkhitaryan but stood up to the challenge well.
Jordan Henderson – 6
Ran himself into the ground and didn’t give the ball away. His afternoon was made easier by Pogba’s decision to be really crap.
Emre Can – 7
Comfortable in possession, read the game well and made more tackles than any of his teammates. His day was also helped by Pogba’s horror show, but Can played well.
Georginio Wijnaldum – 6
Solid and selfless, but missed a late chance with a tame shot.
Adam Lallana – 6
Was involved in the incident that led to Liverpool’s goal. He didn’t have as many flashes of quality as he often does in games, but Lallana worked hard and used the ball well.
Roberto Firmino – 7
His high pressing led to Liverpool’s goal. He also worked hard and tracked back when out of possession.
Dviock Origi – 6
Worked hard and led the line well.
Substitutes:
Philippe Coutinho – 6
He was only on the pitch a few minutes when he showed his class with a wonderful reverse pass for Firmino, who failed to score. Liverpool looked instantly more dangerous for Coutinho’s presence on the pitch.
Catch up with this week’s episode of 888sport Football Friday Live:
