“We have to learn from that as quick as possible” - Alisson points towards reason why Liverpool failed to beat Manchester United

Alisson Becker has stated that the lack of potency from Liverpool's frontline was a major reason why they couldn't get a win against Manchester United on Sunday (17 December).

The Reds took 34 shots as compared to the visitors' six, and managed to get eight of them on target. But there were times when Darwin Nunez, Cody Gakpo, and even the redoubtable Mohamed Salah took shots when perhaps a pass was on.

Alisson, who kept a clean sheet and had just two saves to make, said his team's attacking players' decision-making was a bit off. He told reporters (h/t Mirror):

"Maybe we could improve in the creation phase in the last third of the pitch, creating better chances for ourselves, being more calm on the ball and making better choices. Sometimes we rushed a little bit.

"Shooting balls that we could have passed to a player in a better position. But this is part of the game, we have to learn from that as quick as possible, as the season doesn’t give you too much time to improve."

Manchester United never really looked threatening apart from a couple of instances where they caught Liverpool on the counterattack. Liverpool, on the other hand, had the majority of the ball (68% possession), but often looked impotent in the attacking third of the pitch.

The win means Liverpool are now second in the table after 17 games with 38 points to their name. Arsenal, who beat Brighton & Hove Albion 2-0 at the Emirates, lead the standings with one more point.

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Who do Liverpool play next?

Liverpool's next task is an EFL Cup quarterfinal clash against West Ham United on Wednesday (20 December) at Anfield.

Jurgen Klopp is known for using the domestic cups to give playing time to fringe players and rest some of his senior stars. They won the competition in the 2021-22 season along with the FA Cup, which was the first time the German manager won either of those competitions.

The fact that Liverpool's next game is against leaders Arsenal is all the more reason for Klopp to manage his players' minutes carefully against the Hammers. The two giants will clash at the Emirates on Saturday (23 December), with the Gunners having more recovery time given they exited the EFL Cup in November.

Liverpool enjoy a fairly good head-to-head record against the north London giants in recent years, losing just once in their last seven meetings across competitions. Their only defeat during that time came at the Emirates last season, when Mikel Arteta's side won 3-2 in the league.