Manchester United 0-0 Liverpool: 3 Things we learned

Manchester United drew 0-0 with Liverpool in a crucial Premier League match today at Old Trafford. Liverpool now lead the league table with 66 points from 27 matches, while United are at 5th position with 52 points from the same number of games.

It was a scrappy affair, with Liverpool slightly having the better share of exchanges. They had around 60% ball-possession and looked to be the team with a more positive intent. However, United defended resolutely to ensure a point for themselves.

The Red Devils have now beaten Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham and drawn against Liverpool since the appointment of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

Here, we take a look at the 3 things we learned from today’s match:

#3 A first-half laden with injuries and substitutions

Mata was one of the players to be withdrawn in the first half

It was a first half full of injuries and substitutions. United had to make all three of their substitutions in the first half itself. They started with a 4-3-3 with Juan Mata playing as a false nine, and Romelu Lukaku and Marcus Rashford playing on the wings.

However, it turned out to be a makeshift arrangement only, as Mata struggled to see the ball, and Rashford kept making sporadic runs into the final third. Ander Herrera got injured in the 19th minute and was substituted by Jesse Lingard.

Soon after, Mata also pulled a muscle and left the field. To make the misery complete, Lingard himself got injured while trying to dodge past Alisson Becker inside the penalty box. Alisson actually did wonderfully well to prevent Lingaard from scoring, and also stopped Lukaku’s header from close range after a while.

Alexis Sanchez came in for him just before the half time, and Liverpool also had to introduce Daniel Sturridge in place of an injured Roberto Firmino in the 31st minute. As many as 4 substitutions were made in the first 45 minutes, and neither team could play free-flowing football.

Liverpool players kept playing short passes amongst themselves and thereby controlled the tempo of the game. Paul Pogba did not have the freedom to attack and had to fall back at times to win the ball in his own box. United’s midfield also lacked the width at times, as Pogba had to veer into the left flank at times.

Liverpool played Jordan Henderson, Fabinho and Giorginio Wijnaldaum in the midfield, and Sadio Mane kept roaming all over the pitch. However, Mohamed Salah failed to impress again and was taken off in the second half.

#2 McTominay and Lindelof held firm for United

McTominay played as a defensive midfielder in the absence of Nemanja Matic and put up a spirited display for United. He impressed with his tackling abilities and ball control and won a lot of balls in the midfield. However, Andreas Pereira, who came in for Ander Herrera, failed to have any notable contribution in the match.

Alexis Sanchez was also a peripheral figure for the majority of the second half and fell back to the midfield often to play in a defensive role. Pogba was more aggressive in the second half and created some chances for the forwards too. However, those were not enough to perturb the Liverpool defenders.

Victor Lindelof was a rock in United’s defence and made a number of vital blocks and interceptions. It was his 27th appearance of the season, and he remains one of the best defenders in the Premier League at the moment. Chris Smalling was also quite good and did not allow the Liverpool forwards any free space in the final third.

#3 Liverpool aggressive in second half, but cannot score

Liverpool tried to force the game in the second half

Liverpool attacked more frequently in the second half, as James Milner, playing as a right back, made frequent overlaps into the United half. Liverpool also introduced Xherdan Shaqiri into the midfield by taking off Jordan Henderson, and it increased the potency of their attack.

However, United’s fullbacks Luke Shaw and Ashley Young mostly stayed in their own half and did not allow the likes of Salah and Mane to sneak into the penalty box from the flanks.

Both Lukaku and Sanchez dropped down to the midfield, as United adopted a 4-5-1 formation, with Rashford as the lone forward. There were some sporadic long balls played to Rashford from United’s half, but they could not breach Liverpool’s defence. Liverpool’s centre backs were superb in the air and dominated the aerial battles during the set-pieces.

United came very close to scoring in the dying minutes of the match, but Smalling could not meet Lukaku’s cross from the right wing and the ball crossed the Liverpool goal-line harmlessly. United had actually managed to put the ball in the back of the net in the second half, but that goal was rightly ruled out because of offside.