5 talking points from Manchester United 1 – 4 Liverpool

The stage was set, and the bragging rights were up for grabs. In a pre-season game, there is little to achieve, but a Liverpool and Manchester United game is always different.

There was rightly a lot of hype surrounding the game at The Big House - United were devoid of a host of stars, and had not impressed in pre-season. Liverpool on the other hand were on the rise, and were staying true to Klopp’s style of play.

United started the match on the back foot, as Eric Bailly had to come in for Smalling who was injured during warm up. From the start, Liverpool piled the pressure on United, as wave after wave of attacks were thwarted by some last gasp defending.

In one such attack, Mitchell conceded a penalty. Mane converted to give Liverpool the lead. Mitchell immediately rectified his mistake when he won a free kick which was brilliantly converted by Pereira. The first half ended 1-1, but Liverpool were the better side.

In the second half, Liverpool came out all guns blazing, as they scored through Sturridge who won another penalty as well, which Ojo converted. Liverpool finally made it 4-1 via a brilliant Shaqiri overhead kick.

Liverpool showed they are miles ahead of United in terms of preparation for the new season, and Manchester United have to regroup and get their act together in what is looking like a disappointing pre-season so far.

United fans will be hurt and disappointed, but should be well advised to take this game for what it was – a pre-season friendly. In the end, it was an entertaining encounter for the neutrals and Liverpool fans alike, here we take a look at five talking points from the game.

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#5 Mourinho set United up defensively

The United midfield was busy defending and contributed little in attack

Mourinho started with 3 at the back, with Darmian and Mitchell in wing-back roles. His midfield consisted of Herrera, Pereira and McTominay, while Mata seemed to have a free role just behind Sanchez.

Although it looked like a defensive set up, it was the best Mourinho could offer, and the team had enough in it to attack Liverpool. Unfortunately, the United manager seemed keen to crowd up the middle and play defensive football, this ultimately backfired.

Klopp’s team on the other hand was not reigned in, and had the freedom to play higher up on the pitch, causing United problems all through the game. It was a game where both managers applied different tactics, but in reality tried to stay true to their brand of football.

One can argue that he could have given the youngsters some more game time, but Mourinho does look a little frustrated with United’s sluggishness in the market, and the absence of his first team players. All this could affect the preparation for the new season, but Mourinho’s tendency to play defensive football will not impress United fans.

#4 The Manchester United defense looked shaky

Darmian and the United defense had a poor show

And why not? Eric Bailly was initially on the substitutes bench when the team was announced, but was drafted in for Smalling just before the start of the game. United started with three at the back, and it was a strange back three. Bailly had Fosu-Mensah and Axel Tuanzebe for company, the inexperience of the youngsters was evident.

There was a lack of understanding between the three as is expected, since the three of them have rarely played in a back three together before. The clumsiness was clear from the start of the game, when Lee Grant had to stretch to deny Salah from opening the scoring and Herrera had to brilliantly clear the ball off the line.

In the second half, Fosu-Mensah and Tuanzebe were both caught ball watching as Sturridge capitalised to score Liverpool’s second goal. And then, some poor clearing and non-existent marking allowed Shaqiri to finish brilliantly to take the game out of United’s hand.

Lindelof will be coming back to this team after a fine World Cup, but you can see why United is linked to a host of defenders daily. Mourinho will have to find his correct center back pairing, and he has to do that fast.

#3 Liverpool showed more willingness to attack than Manchester United

The Liverpool attack put United on the back foot all through the game

The Liverpool side had more attacking intent in their game. They pressed well, they were fluent in attack, and their midfield was set higher up. They had 16 shots in total in the game, with 9 of them on target.

In stark contrast, United had just 3 shot in the entire game, with 2 of them on target. United tried to catch Liverpool on the counter, but Mourinho had set the team up so deep that there was a lot of ground for United to cover.

Liverpool had 65 percent of the ball and attempted 624 passes with an 87 percent pass completion rate. United on the other hand, attempted 346 passes, with 73 percent of those completed.

Very few of those passes were played to the front line, though Tuanzebe did find Mata with a fine ball from the defense, the Spaniard was offside. Then it was Sanchez’s turn to find Mata, and again the crafty midfielder was offside.

Sanchez had a really quiet game. He had to pick up the balls from deep and was always crowded by Liverpool players. When he did find the ball, he was too far from the goal to attempt anything.

United was so busy defending that their midfield was just outside their penalty area most of the time. McTominay had a game to forget and looks set to go down the pecking order with regards the midfield.

Unless he improves, he will be branded a one season wonder. Herrera was too busy keeping the ball out of the net to try anything offensive.

The few times United had the ball in the midfield, there was no one to aim, as everyone was sitting deep. Mourinho did bring in new signing Fred with 20 minutes remaining, but by then it was too late for the Brazilian to influence the game.

#2 No outlet for the United attack

Alexis Sanchez looked lonely in attack and had no support

With every passing game, the curious case of the right side of the United attack looms large. The Liverpool game could be tackled with the right combination of pace and trickery on the wings. United had youngster Mitchell and the static Darmian on the flanks.

None of them provided anything of purpose going forward, although Mitchell did win the free kick that led to United’s goal. True, the lack of a true center forward hurt United the most in this game, but United had non-existent wing-play as well.

Chong did get a run in at the end for the last 20 minutes, but could not affect the game. There was no service for Sanchez playing as a number 9, and the Chilean had to come deep into his own half to pick up the ball.

Although Luke Shaw was not too impressive in the pre-season so far, he would have been a better choice on the left wing. Darmian looks set to be off-loaded, and this game served as a reason.

He looked out of place against the pace of the Liverpool side. This game although was just a pre-season outing, was a clear indication of what United is missing.

#1 Andreas Pereira gives Mourinho a problem every manager likes to have

Andreas Pereira had another stellar outing for the Red Devils

Pereira has been brilliant so far in the pre-season. He is United’s consistent performer and has set the bar high in the midfield. In his current form in pre-season, it will be difficult for Mourinho to ignore him, and the manager will love that.

With the retirement of Michael Carrick, Mourinho would have liked some reinforcements from the market, but it looks like Pereira has stepped up his game and Carrick - part of Mourinho’s coaching staff now, will certainly have a huge contribution in that.

The Liverpool game was a litmus test for Pereira, and he started the game with a bang. That free-kick will be the best memory of United fans in the pre-season so far. It had everything, and was so perfect that Grabara the Liverpool goalkeeper did not move an inch.

But it was not the only highlight in Pereira’s game. The Brazilian was busy, aggressive and looked like a proper United player playing against their bitter rivals. It was a shame that he could not find the outlet in attack to help the game, and had to invest all of his time in defensive duties.

The disappearance of McTominay also hurt him. Mourinho needs to get this boy a proper midfield partner immediately, because rest assured - Andreas Pereira has the grit, determination and the talent to have his say this season.