TOPS
In a revamped Manchester defense – with the tenure of Jonny Evans (35) in the absence of Harry Maguire – Raphaël Varane and Diogo Dalot were imperial. The former France team defender headed almost all the balls from Liverpool’s corners and crosses. The Portuguese was very physically present and perfectly anticipated most of the transmissions during the Reds’ offensive phases. A boss match for the two Mancunian backs who showed great dedication.
The Manchester goalkeeper was very effective today. Even if the Cameroonian was not perfect on his feet, he was perfect on his line. The former Inter goalkeeper finished the match with 8 saves, some of which were spectacular. Decisive.
Very good game from the Liverpool midfielder. The Japanese was very present in the Reds midfield, recovering a lot of balls and being perfect in his transmissions (88%) of successful passes. The 30-year-old proves his qualities week after week and becomes a sure value in Jurgen Klopp’s midfield.
FLOPS
Despite the domination of the Reds throughout the match, the Liverpool attackers were unable to find the fault in the very overhauled Mancunian defense. Luis Diaz (3 shots, 0 on target), Darwin Nunez (2 shots, 0 on target) did not weigh heavily on André Onana’s goal. Only Mohamed Salah (6 shots, 4 on target) posed a real danger to United’s goal but was greatly lacking in efficiency. The Egyptian also had difficulty combining with his teammates and was clumsy many times. “The Pharaoh” was clearly not having a great day, like his offensive friends.
Rasmus Hojlund was nowhere to be found. The Manchester United striker went through the match like a ghost. The Dane only touched 17 balls during the entire match, for 2 shots, only one of which was on target. The former Atalanta striker could have allowed the Red Devils to open the scoring shortly after the hour mark, on a huge chance, but the latter came up short against Alisson. Beyond this action, Hojlund seemed completely alone at the forefront of the Mancunian attack and did not know how to combine with his teammates (only 6 passes on the clock in 90 minutes). Starving. Alejandro Garnacho was not much better. The Argentinian from Manchester United was in great difficulty until his exit in the 71st minute of play. The Mancunian striker was unable to make the difference on his left side and did not bring any danger to the goal. Liverpool (2 shots, O on target). United’s No.17 was eaten up by the Reds’ defense and still seemed too soft for this kind of match.
