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It was a hard night for Manchester United. Of all the places that the Red Devils would loathe to lose, perhaps Anfield would be the number one. It is also the place where Manchester United have been difficult to defeat in recent times - United had lost just one of the last seven trips to Anfield before Sunday!
However, this season, the tables were turned and the game was important to both clubs for quite different reasons. A win would have put Liverpool top of the table, while for United, it meant closing the gap to the top four.
Mourinho opted for 10 changes to the team that were defeated in midweek in the Champions League. He started with De Gea in goal, with Dalot, Darmian, Bailly, Lindelof and Young making up a back 5. In the middle, the Portuguese opted for Herrera and Matic, while up top, Lukaku continued to lead the line alongside Rashford and Lingard.
Manchester United were pegged back right from the start of play and endured a difficult first 20 minutes. Mane gave Liverpool the lead in the 24th minute, however, United rallied back to level the scores through Lingard in the 33rd minute, and ended the half stronger. Mourinho brought in Fellaini in place of Dalot at the start of the second half, as he switched to a back 4.
Liverpool continued to pile the pressure on United and it paid dividends in the 73rd minute as Shaqiri gave them the lead in the 73rd minute. Mourinho tried to have a go at it by bringing on Martial in place of Herrera, but Shaqiri took the game away from the Red Devils by scoring his second in the 80th minute.
Liverpool went on to win the game, while Jose had quite a few questions to answer because he made these 4 errors which cost Manchester United the game.
#4 Formation
Mourinho opted for a 5-2-3 formation, hoping for the pace and power of the front three to counter Liverpool's stellar defence. However, he lost the battle in the midfield by opting for two players against the three of Liverpool. Herrera and Matic were continuously overrun by Keita, Wijnaldum and Fabinho.
Herrera was left with a lot to do defensively because Matic stayed too deep and had to spend most of his time on or near the box. The Serbian could only watch as the Liverpool midfield ran past him with ease and he provided minimal cover for the United defence. Had it not been for the brilliance of Bailly, United would have been in further trouble in the first half itself. Herrera, on the other hand, was overburdened with defensive responsibilities and it meant that he could hardly concentrate on the attacking side of his game. The biggest benefactor of this situation was Fabinho.
The Brazilian had acres of spaces in the opposition half and he dictated the terms with comfort in the first half. Mourinho did change to a 4-3-3 at the start of the second half, however, it did not work to his benefit because of his team selection.
#2 Team Selection
The Portuguese will have to admit that he got the team selection wrong. Keeping Juan Mata on the bench was a big mistake and starting with Lukaku leading the line killed every United counter before it could even start.
Against a team that plays an intense, attacking football, Manchester United knew that the chances would be few and far between and as such, they had to make most of the few chances that they would be getting. However, Mourinho opted to leave two of the best passers of his team on the bench, thus already crippling United before the start of the game.
Pogba's absence was a perhaps a little understandable, with the Frenchman doing nothing in midweek or in recent times to warrant an automatic starting spot. However, as the game unfolded, it was clear that United had nobody to make those passes, and to carry the ball forward. Mata would have been a fine addition to this team, perhaps as a No. 10 or as the right winger and his exquisite passing would have made the difference in the final third.
In attack, perhaps, Lukaku's presence harmed United more than it benefited them, even though the Belgian was responsible for carving out the equalizer. Mourinho would have been better advised to start Mata in place of Lukaku, using the Spaniard as a No. 10 and using Rashford and Lingard as the floating strikers.
#2 Substitutions
While the Portuguese got his team wrong at the start, he did have the chance to make amends in the second half with his substitutions. Unfortunately, Mourinho's bad day at the office continued with his decision making as well and United had to pay the price.
He took off Dalot and brought on Fellaini at the start of the second half, trying to add stability and steel to the middle. While it did increase the numbers in the middle, the Belgian had little effect on the proceeding and could hardly stop the Liverpool midfield from running riot.
He then brought on Martial for Herrera in the 79th minute, with the game at a tender 2-1 stage. With Herrera gone, the bite in the midfield disappeared, United conceded again and Martial had too little time to impact the game.
In the 85th minute, Mourinho opted to bring in Mata for Lingard, however, there wasn't time at all for the Spaniard to assert his authority on the game. Lingard, even though he had scored a fortunate goal, had a poor game.
His reluctance to track back meant that Robertson had a field day and most of Liverpool's attack came from the left side. The Mata for Lingard change should have come earlier and might have helped United come away from Anfield with at least a point.
#1 Tactics
Mourinho always likes to set his team up defensively against stronger opponents. As such, the formation, the team selection and also the substitutions were not a departure from his norm. However, it was the tactics deployed by the Portuguese that cost United the game.
Against Arsenal and also against Fulham, Manchester United had a degree of relentlessness about them. There was a hunger on the field and players fought for the ball at every instant. Especially against Gunners, United almost beat them in their own game. However, against Liverpool, none of that hunger and desire was evident.
For starters, the Midfield did not press at all and Matic sat too deep to stop Liverpool build up play. Lingard played through the right, even though he was given a free role and did not track back at all, even though Rashford was defensively disciplined.
This left a huge gap in the right side, as young Dalot was unable to cope with the intensity of Liverpool. Herrera had to move to the right to help him out and this resulted in a midfield that had no bite in it. Fabinho dictated terms in the midfield and for long periods, Liverpool dominated the tempo of the game.
The wing play was also poor, as United tried to move the ball quickly to the forwards, to catch Liverpool off guard on the counter. However, the tactics failed miserably and brought about United's downfall.
