Manchester United 2-1 Liverpool
Manchester United have moved five points clear of Liverpool in the Premier League table courtesy of a 2-1 win over the Reds at Old Trafford.
Marcus Rashford scored twice for United in the first 24 minutes, but Liverpool were back in the match in the 66th minute when Eric Bailly turned a Sadio Mane cross into his own net.
The visitors could not find a second though as United held on to pick up a huge three points.
Below are four talking points from the clash in Manchester.
Rashford takes his chance with both hands
There is no getting away from the fact that it has been a frustrating few months for Rashford, but he was handed his first Premier League start since Boxing Day at Old Trafford on Saturday afternoon.
The England international caused Liverpool’s young full-back Trent Alexander-Arnold all sorts of problems in the early stages, and opened the scoring with a spectacular strike in the 14th minute having cut inside before finding the bottom corner.
The 20-year-old then doubled United’s lead in the 25th minute when his deflected effort found a route past Loris Karius. There was a hint of fortune about the second, but Rashford’s strike was true, and it was huge moment for the forward, who was ultimately replaced in the 70th minute on a booking.
Paul Pogba and Anthony Martial both missed out for the home side through injury, meaning that there were spots in the XI for both Juan Mata and Rashford. Had Martial been fit then there is every chance that Rashford would have been named on the bench once again.
It is all about taking your chances at this level of football, and it proved to be a terrific afternoon for a player that brought some local flavour to the biggest match in English football.
@MarcusRashford inspires the Red Devils to an excellent victory at Old Trafford
#MUNLIV
United making progress despite Mourinho doubters
United are now eight points better off than they were at this stage of last season. Jose Mourinho has taken his fair share of criticism for his team’s style of football, but there is no question that the Red Devils are moving in the right direction.
Away form has been an issue for United this term, but they have been very strong at Old Trafford – winning 17 of their 20 home matches in all competitions this term. Opposition teams enjoyed travelling to United under David Moyes and Louis van Gaal, but that is simply no longer the case.
United were 2-0 up at the interval, but it should have been three, with Mata just missing the post with an over-head kick seven minutes before the break. Liverpool did have a couple of half-chances, although the likes of Scott McTominay and Nemanja Matic performed an excellent job of closing the space available in dangerous positions.
There have been calls for Luke Shaw to replace Ashley Young at left-back, but the latter was excellent up against Mohamed Salah. As expected, Liverpool threw the kitchen sink at the home side late on as the fourth official indicated that six additional minutes would be played, but United defended incredibly well to collect all three points against their bitter rivals.
No century for Lukaku but big Belgian plays his part
It was not to be the day that Lukaku reached 100 Premier League goals, but the Belgium international played a huge role in his team collecting all three points.
Questions have been asked of the forward’s big-game performances, but he was excellent against Chelsea last weekend, and caused Liverpool problems at Old Trafford on Saturday afternoon. It was Lukaku’s flick that sent Rashford on his way for the opening goal, before winning another important header in the build-up to the second.
The 24-year-old was not always involved in the second half due to Liverpool’s domination of the ball, but he made two telling contributions in the first 45 minutes, which proved vital in United securing all the points.
Lukaku will now have to wait until March 31 against Swansea City to potentially make it a century of Premier League goals, but he will have a huge role to play in United’s bid to make the quarter-finals of the Champions League, and semi-finals of the FA Cup over the seven days.
Liverpool’s excellent form comes to a halt at Old Trafford
Liverpool entered the match as the form team in the Premier League having gained 25 points from their last 10 matches. They had also lost just one of their last 20 Premier League games entering Saturday’s fixture, with that excellent run of results seeing them shoot up the table.
United were protecting an impressive home record, but Liverpool had managed 34 away league goals ahead of kickoff at Old Trafford, which was a joint-high in the top five European leagues alongside Lyon.
Jordan Henderson and Georginio Wijnaldum both started on the bench as James Milner and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain joined Emre Can in midfield, but there were no surprises in the final third as Salah, Roberto Firmino and Mane continued as the front three.
The visitors had a brilliant chance to level the scores in the 23rd minute when Virgil van Dijk met a corner from the right, but the centre-back somehow sent the ball wide of the post. Less than one minute later, United doubled their advantage when Rashford’s deflected effort found the back of the net.
Liverpool had their moments in the first period, but not many came from Salah, who was finding it difficult to find space. Their first chance of the second half also fell to Van Dijk from a corner, but again his header missed the target.
The Merseyside club had a couple of big penalty shouts in the early moments of the second period, but the referee was not interested. It was one-way traffic as Liverpool attacked the United goal, although clear chances were few and far between as the home side’s defence continued to impress.
An own goal from Bailly handed Liverpool a lifeline in the 66th minute, but Jurgen Klopp’s side could not find a leveller despite six minutes of added on time as they dropped off the pace in the battle for second position in the Premier League table.
