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Liverpool beat Manchester United 2-0 in a crucial Premier League match yesterday to stretch their lead over 2nd placed Manchester City to 16 points. Liverpool now have 64 points from 22 matches and have extended their unbeaten run at Anfield to 52 games. On the other hand, United remained at the 5th position in the league table with 34 points in 23 matches.
Virgil van Dijk put the home side ahead in the 14th minute with a powerful header from a corner kick and Mohamed Salah increased the deficit with a fine counter-attacking move in the dying minutes of the match. It was Liverpool’s 21st league win this season, as they beat their arch-rivals in convincing fashion.
United tried hard to restore parity, but could not find the elusive equalizer. Let's now take a look at the three key observations from the game:
#1 Liverpool defenders sat deep and switched play with long balls
Liverpool were wary of the counter-attacking threat posed by United, and therefore, their defenders sat deep in the first half. They did not allow the United forwards too much space in the final third and the centre-backs Van Dijk and Joe Gomez ensured that United did not get any scoring opportunity of note.
The Liverpool defenders played long balls to their forwards and avoided playing the high line. Long aerial balls were played to Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino, who tried to break through the United defence. Jordan Henderson also shielded the defence well and played some forward balls.
Van Dijk had a special eye on Daniel James, as the latter tried to break free on a few occasions. Additionally, the backline was also seen playing diagonals to catch United on the break with one of the front three or Andy Robertson on the receiving end of such passes.
#2 United tweaked their starting formation to have more solidity in defence
Manchester United started with a 3-5-2 formation, with Victor Lindelof, Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw playing as the 3 central defenders while Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Brandon Williams as the two wing-backs. It was done to deal with the high-press of the Liverpool front three. An extra man in the defensive third allowed them to deal with the onslaught of the Liverpool forwards.
This strategy also allowed Williams to peg back Trent Alexander-Arnold, as the latter was not able to make too many overlapping runs. However, United’s set-piece defending left much to be desired, as Van Dijk lost his marker and outjumped Maguire to put Liverpool ahead.
United were also guilty of playing too many misplaced passes and lost possession too frequently. On the other hand, the Liverpool players played their passes far more accurately and were able to win 5 corners in the opening 25 minutes. Firmino had scored a second goal for Liverpool in the first half, but it was disallowed following a foul on David de Gea by Van Dijk. De Gea made some superb saves in the match to keep United in it.
#3 United tried hard in the second half, but Salah sealed the deal
United’s formation often became 3-4-3 when they had possession, as Andreas Perreira tried to venture forward through the middle. However, Anthony Martial missed a golden opportunity in the second half to equalize, as he blasted the ball over the bar from inside the Liverpool penalty box.
Martial tried to cut in from the left flank at times while Fred and Matic also tested Alisson Becker from outside the penalty box. However, United were unable to draw level and switched to a back 4 by taking Williams off. Juan Mata and Mason Greenwood were introduced in place of Andreas Perreira and Williams respectively, as United switched to a 4-2-3-1 formation.
James moved to the left-wing and started to look more lively there. However, Greenwood could not do much on the right-wing, as United kept pressing for the equalizer. The Red Devils also managed to win a few corners, but could not convert them into goals.
In the closing minutes of the match, Alisson got the ball from a United corner and threw it superbly to an unmarked Salah on the left flank. Salah shrugged off the challenge made by James and slotted the ball home past De Gea with ease. It was his 15th goal of the season and first-ever against United.
