At the end of a beautiful battle in the pouring rain at Anfield, there was still a chance. Central defender Harry Maguire, one of the faces of Manchester United’s failing transfer policy, crept forward in the 97th minute. Substitute Joshua Zirkzee can score himself, but still passes to Maguire, who is completely free. But his efforts fly over the top.
This leaves Liverpool 2-2 against Manchester United, after an extremely exciting, open game, between melting piles of snow. Liverpool FC, the team in top form, failed to play the refined, fast combination game that has made such an impression this season under coach Arne Slot. Where Manchester United, the team in crisis, revived from nowhere, battling in the harsh weather conditions.
A big victory for Liverpool was expected in what is historically one of the most charged matches in English football. Rarely has the difference been so great beforehand. The gap between table leader Liverpool and number fourteen Manchester United is 23 points, and Liverpool still has a catch-up game to go.
But football can sometimes go crazy, Manchester United defender Matthijs de Ligt had already said. Manchester defends very disciplined, keeps the spaces small and virtually neutralizes Liverpool striker Mo Salah with double coverage. United are playing their best game so far under new coach Rúben Amorim.
Talented trainer
After the dismissal of Erik ten Hag at the end of October, Manchester United appointed one of the most talented trainers in top European football with 39-year-old Amorim. The Portuguese, twice national champion with Sporting Portugal, started well with, among other things, a spectacular victory against city rival Manchester City. But performance fell sharply over the course of December; the last four matches of 2024 were lost.
The first half at Old Trafford against Newcastle United on December 30 was particularly shocking. United, which lost 2-0, hardly created any pressure on the ball and fell short on a technical, tactical and physical level. The low point was the substitution of Dutch attacker Zirkzee after half an hour, greeted with cynical applause from the home crowd.
Amorim regularly shows himself to be realistic, does not run away from criticism, acknowledges his own mistakes – something his predecessor rarely did. “I think people are done with excuses at this club,” Amorim said early last week. “Sometimes I talk about relegation. Our club needs a shock.” United are seven points above the relegation zone after Sunday.
One problem is that after conceding goals, his team forgets what the agreements were in training, Amorim said. There is no foundation on which they can fall back, he acknowledged. “We don’t have time to… basics build up and deal with the difficult moments.” Due to the poor results, players are experiencing increasing pressure, he said on Friday. “Sometimes they are too anxious and afraid to play football.”
Marcus Rashford
Another shortcoming is the mentality of some players. Marcus Rashford, child of the club and one of the top earners with a salary of the equivalent of 390,000 euros per week, has already been left out of the selection several times by Amorim. Partly because Rashford went out in Manchester shortly before a match, wrote the authoritative The Athletic.
Alejandro Garnacho, a talented Argentinian striker, was also passed over because of his attitude (he did come on as a substitute against Liverpool on Sunday). “Sometimes the usual approach doesn’t work, so we try something new,” Amorim said.
The Portuguese also chooses his own line in the tactical field. He uses a system with three central defenders with attacking players on the flanks wingbacks – on the right with former Ajax player Noussair Mazraoui. Although Manchester United’s selection is not set up for that style of play and the question is how smart it is to play in this system, Amorim sticks to it.
“I have to sell my idea, I don’t have another one,” he said. “If I keep adjusting everything all the time, it will even get worse.” A ‘system evangelist’, so to speak The Guardian him this weekend.
His battle plan worked out excellently on Sunday. Defensively, United retreat to an ultra-compact 5-4-1 formation, with the center bricked up with De Ligt. Liverpool does have opportunities in the opening phase, but Cody Gakpo, among others, misses. Manchester United is getting stronger and getting big chances through the wings – Amad Diallo and Rasmus Højlund miss.
Suddenly there is panic at Liverpool, when United defender Lisandro Martínez shoots home the 0-1 shortly after half-time. Although it doesn’t take long before Gakpo makes it 1-1 with a shot into the far corner, after he cleverly cut through De Ligt. After an unfortunate handball from the same De Ligt, Salah made it 2-1 from a penalty. Liverpool then seems to control and thus move further ahead of competitors Arsenal and Chelsea. But Diallo tapped in the 2-2 ten minutes before the end from a withdrawn cross from Garnacho.
The consequences of United’s possible relegation became apparent last week already outlined Through The Athletic. That was unthinkable for a long time, but not entirely unrealistic due to the poor play in December. It would, among other things, save tens of millions in TV revenues. After Sunday, that disaster scenario seems to have been averted for the time being – the good game against the leader gives United something to hold on to. It even climbed a spot in the Premier League: from fourteen to thirteen.