“Absolute Cinema” is the perfect reaction of millions of fanatics of the game after watching the Sunday night blockbuster at Anfield. A struggling Manchester United side gouged Liverpool 2-2, but how? Going into the matchday 20 ‘The Reds’ were favorites to snatch away all the three points, strengthen their lead however pleased with just one point.
The result could be 3-2 for the Red Devils as Harry Maguire missed a big chance assisted by Joshua Zirkzee in the dying moments. However, the club from Merseyside also missed 2 big chances. However, after 2018, for the first time, United had some numbers on the scoresheet at Liverpool’s home.
How did Manchester United Halt In-Form Liverpool’s charge?
Arne Slot’s Liverpool has more XG per 90 minutes(2.36), scored the most goals in the league (47), and played with more possession after the city in this current campaign. Usually, Manchester United is just the opposite. But Last night, they had control (48%) and created a lot of possessional attacks, conducting flanks to create goal-scoring opportunities. Skipper Bruno Fernandes used that wide area, providing a good through while inverting to Lisandro Martinez. The 26-year-old Argentine center-back finished it from the critical left angle.
It was the same for Amad Diallo, who scored the equalizer for United when 10 minutes of the game were remaining. Alexandro Garnacho subbed at 71′, took advantage of the flank, and gave an astonishing cross to him. Cody Gakpo, who missed a quite good chance at 14′, shaped the scorecard 1-1 and received a good through ball from Mac Allister. Better known as drop dip, midfielder Allister went higher on the pitch yesterday. While Luis Dais played as False 9.
Manchester United’s XG was too low, 1.05, as compared to their performance. There were big chances, but most of the time, those were in a critical position.
Man-to-Man Marking: A Risky Gamble that Paid Off for United
As mentioned in the preview, the only thing that can set Ruben Amorim’s side relevant is playing with the second ball and counterattacks. So far, from the first minute of the game, United marked Liverpool players on a man-to-man basis. A pure gambling !! On many occasions, previous manager Eric Ten Hag and now Amorim was exposed a lot of times while using the man marking system totally. The lack of characteristics in the squad left them with only a few options. However, this time, the recovery rate was much better from United. They recovered almost 45 balls successfully, whereas the number is 44 for Liverpool.
Overloading in the mid-space, Liverpool was taking a numerical superiority, a clear deficit for Manchester United. Ugarte, Mainoo had a high amount of work rate. Liverpool was not looking genuine in the final third as regular. The optimized ball game of slot is known for better tactics to crack low blocks. But not yesterday; Arne Slot’s side entered the final third 56 times. Out of 155 touches, only 111 (77%) were successful.
Besides everything, again, Manchester United showed how much they rely on individual quality to execute. Though collectiveness is far away, Amorim is trying to manage limited resources. Bruno was confident while dropping to cover half of the space to prevent Trent Arnold from inverting. Where he was also connecting to the defensive mid. They played one-on-one with Dalot and pushed Garnacho to exploit the wider space.
It also could be a cinematic win for United if Maguire did not miss the chance. Though there is no place for “IF” in football, a Signiant XG (0.31) claimed that it could also be possible.
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