A game of defence versus attack saw Liverpool and Manchester United play out a goalless draw, in a result which the visitors will be happy with, but the home side less so. It was a familiar story for Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp, who is yet to beat this opposition in the Premier League during his time on Merseyside.
A stirring, extended version of You’ll Never Walk Alone greeted the players of both sides as they entered a sun baked Anfield, and the wall of noise around the stadium eradicated any idea that an early kick off would lead to a more subdued atmosphere.
United built their own wall at the back in attempt to contain the Liverpool attack. Ashley Young acted as a second right back in support of Antonio Valencia, and as is often the case in this fixture Jose Mourinho’s tactics were defence first, attack later. But the attacks did come, and despite Liverpool’s dominance the visitors created some dangerous moments in the first half.
Romelu Lukaku lurked, but the main outlet for the visitors early on was the speed of Anthony Martial down the left. He managed to win a free kick in a dangerous area on one of his side’s rare forays forward, but the set piece came to nothing. Nemanja Matic shot just over from distance, and this prompted Liverpool into action. Can forced David de Gea into a good reaction save as he turned Roberto Firmino’s cross goalward, and when presented with a chance to drive home the rebound Mohamed Salah shot wide. Another Salah shot fell safely into the hands of De Gea, before Lukaku tested Simon Mignolet at the other end.
Lukaku also tested referee Martin Atkinson on a number of occasions. He was lucky not to be booked as he cleaned out Joe Gomez, and was fortunate not to receive any punishment when his boot caught Dejan Lovren in the face. It looked unintentional, but Lovren certainly didn’t see it that way as he rolled exaggeratedly on the ground to make a point.
Shots: 18-6
Pass accuracy: 86%-76%
Chances created: 16-2
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Coutinho increasingly looked like the home side’s best chance of unlocking the stubborn, considerable United defence as he jinked around, cutting in from the left, but the next real chance fell to Can who knocked the ball over the bar from close range following a Joe Gomez cross.
It was 0-0 at Anfield when the sides last met here in October last year, and it looked set to be heading for the same scoreline again as Mourinho’s defence cancelled out Klopp’s side’s probing but ultimately fruitless attacking play. United barely made it out of their own half in the second period. Left back Matteo Darmian was keeping Salah at bay down the wing so the Egyptian moved inside, but his shooting was poor even though he found himself in some good areas.
Both teams switched up their attackers with Mourinho replacing Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Martial with Jesse Lingard, and Marcus Rashford, while Klopp brought on Daniel Sturridge and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain for Salah and, surprisingly, Coutinho. But while there were new names on the pitch, the game remained much the same as it had for the previous hour or so.
Liverpool enjoyed over 60 per cent of the possession in the game, but struggled to do anything with it. Oxlade-Chamberlain slung in a few crosses, Can drove the team forward from midfield, and Dominic Solanke entered the fray late on, but none of this could bring a goal. There were a few plate corners for the home side, but even though they managed to connect with a couple of headers, there was never really a threat on De Gea’s goal.
