Manchester United 0-0 Liverpool: 3 Things we learned | Premier League 2018/19

#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.