Capital One Cup: Manchester United settle scores against Liverpool

Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez celebrates scoring their first goal during the Capital Cup Third Round match between Manchester United and Liverpool at Old Trafford on September 25, 2013 in Manchester, England.  (Getty Images)

Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez celebrates scoring their first goal during the Capital Cup Third Round match between Manchester United and Liverpool at Old Trafford on September 25, 2013 in Manchester, England. (Getty Images)

Both Ryan Giggs and Wayne Rooney have pre-emptively explained the recent away defeat by Manchester City by declaring that they don’t care much for the local derby. It is the Liverpool rivalry that is the most important to United; not really because it decides the title, but for the brutally simple reason that it is the match Sir Alex Ferguson cared the most about.

Ferguson, of course, had a well-known, longstanding hatred of Liverpool that is supposed to have begun when Bob Paisley’s Reds hammered Ferguson’s Aberdeen 4-0 in 1980. On the way back, the irascible Scot threatened to fine any player who laughed ten pounds.

In later years, he made it an annual point of reference to defeat Liverpool, no matter what their position. That of course suited the Merseysiders. It showed them respect, even though the league table did not.

Today, there was little to separate the two teams – although it is a relief for David Moyes to have finally defeated a major United rival after three unsuccessful meetings.

It’s hard to say which was the better team – both had long spells of possession and quite a few dangerous moments, but Liverpool lacked a cutting edge.

Team news

If this was a “mere” League Cup encounter, the team sheets did not show it. United named a fairly strong line-up: Rooney, Giggs and the mysteriously absent-of-late Shinji Kagawa all featured at the start. Robin van Persie missed out yet again so, so Javier Hernandez featured in his place, with Nani, Rafael and Phil Jones all gaining added match practice.

Like Moyes, Brendan Rodgers had no intention of losing at Old Trafford, so he named a Premier League line-up. Steven Gerrard, Daniel Sturridge and Luis Suarez all started, with Mamadou Sakho and Martin Skrtel solving the Reds’ centre-back problem.

Analysis

United started out strongly, with Liverpool threatening on the break. Over time though, Liverpool came to control possession but – typically – could do little with it. United were equally impotent in possession: although they had Rooney, Hernandez and Kagawa on field, and the trio mustered one set-piece goal between them.

There were multiple reasons for this. Firstly, the full-backs have long played a major role for both teams. In the Anfield clash two weeks ago, Glen Johnson and Patrice Evra were hugely important for their side, but neither was present today. This meant that the attacking impetus was down to the usual (central) suspects, all of whom were well catered for by the defence.

Secondly, once United took the lead, they behaved like Liverpool have of late; ie they sat back and attempted to protect the lead rather than go for the kill. While Nani and Rooney had more chances in the first half, it was Suarez-Sturridge who came close to scoring in the Second. Jordan Henderson came the closest hoever, rattling David de Gea’s post late on, but neither side really troubled the opposition goalkeeper, with both Simon Mignolet and De Gea having a good match.

Wayne Rooney in action during the Capital One Cup Third Round match between Manchester United and Liverpool at Old Trafford on September 25, 2013 in Manchester, England.  (Getty Images)

Wayne Rooney in action during the Capital One Cup Third Round match between Manchester United and Liverpool at Old Trafford on September 25, 2013 in Manchester, England. (Getty Images)

It was basically a case of United’s attack cancelling out Liverpool’s – Hernandez’s 46th minute strike was the only difference between the teams. Like Sturridge at Anfield two weeks earlier, his strike was a blip on an otherwise equal performance from both sides.

While Rooney attacked down the centre regularly, Suarez did the same at the other end. It was all like-for-like. Both Luis Enrique and Nani provided moments of inspiration down the flanks, but neither was able to drum up anything close to a finishing move.

Suarez and Rooney

From a Liverpool point of view, a generalised and brutal yet effective evaluation is possible: if both Suarez and Rooney play, United will probably win; if neither plays, Liverpool ought to win. This is a simple tactical analysis as both play behind the main striker, but Rooney is a more complete forward than Suarez. While both tend to up their game in these clashes, Rooney is the better finisher.

In their very first clash, Suarez destroyed United’s defence, setting up a Dirk Kuyt hat-trick with a brilliant display of dribbling. A year later, Rooney did the same to Liverpool with a convincing second half display at Old Trafford.

But in later matches, United have figured out how to subdue the Uruguayan – or at least how to shut off his supply; likewise, Rooney has not figured as a definitive presence in the last few league games.

Accordingly, this match was decided by a Hernandez volley from a Rooney corner, giving the ex-Evertonian a slight advantage. In reality, however, both were well accounted for by opposition defences.

Conclusion

This was a tough but somewhat dissatisfying match from start to finish. Both sides wanted to win, but the home advantage perhaps gave United a greater motivation. Like the Anfield encounter earlier this month, it is safe to say that the home side had the gumption to win.

The Merseysiders have now gone two matches without a goal, and this will no doubt be an area of concern for Rodgers before the upcoming Sunderland clash.

United haven’t exactly set the league alight, and aren’t title favourites this season – but on the evidence of this match, they can perhaps target a domestic trophy.

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Edited by Staff Editor