Liverpool 7-0 Man Utd Match Review
Cover Photo by (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)
In a highly anticipated derby match between Liverpool and Man Utd, most expected it to be a tight and close match in favour of the in-form team Man Utd. However, as the scoreline suggests, it was a one-sided affair or half of football. It is no secret that in the last decade, Anfield has been a torturous ground for Man Utd with an aggregate score of 36-2 in their previous 11 meetings at the ground. But considering the contrasting form of the two sides this season, and Man Utd already beating Liverpool back in August, Man Utd were the clear favourites for this match.
I would describe the match as a tale of two halves. Two very contrasting halves of football. The first half was a rather evenly contested match between the sides whereby both had spells of superiority. Liverpool in the first 20 minutes dominated the ball and had a few 'half' chances - not big or clear goal-scoring opportunities. Man Utd has tended to be slow starters in recent months, possibly due to fatigue which is down to their very convoluted schedule, but grew into ascendency for the latter part of the first half and arguably should have scored with Rashford and Fernandes missing glaring chances. And almost against the run of play, Gakpo found himself isolated on the LW towards the final stages of the first half and cut inside and scored with a good finish.
Liverpool went into the second half 1-0 up, which came at a good time for them and a bad one for Man Utd who had begun to show why they have been good. Despite the setback, Man Utd were still in it and have proved to be 'mentality monsters' having been a goal down to Barcelona and West Ham in their previous games and then going on to win. But they failed to reach those heights and conceded 6 goals in the second half with a defensive and midfield disaster class. Liverpool were relentless in their pressing which hasn't been seen a lot this season due to their inconsistent performances. And of course, to score 6 goals in half, credit has to be given for being clinical and ruthless. However, analysing the game after it was clear to see that the discipline and organisation between the Man Utd players had disappeared once the score went to 2-0.
Players began to chase the game and leave a lot of space at the back which was a trap that Liverpool had set out. It was similar in their performance against Everton and Real Madrid. They absorbed pressure and quick transitions to hurt the opposition. Everton, could not handle it and did not have the quality to counter it. Real Madrid suffered early on but their vast experience and quality were far superior and they took back control of the game and exposed Liverpool's frailties in midfield and defence - they did not panic and stuck to their plan.
Man Utd certainly had the quality as Madrid (not same level) to get back into this match (at 2-0) but lacked the discipline and organisation. It was naivety from Man Utd to think chasing a game at Anfield 3-0, 4-0 is a good idea. It's no surprise for me that this squad crumbled at Anfield again as last season apart from Casemiro, Antony and Martinez, it was the same players that lost 9-0 on aggregate to Liverpool. It just shows that despite their form, there is still a major stumbling block with this thin squad - they played with their emotions rather than their brains which led to the heaviest defeat in the history of Man Utd.
Taking nothing away from Liverpool's energy and finishing but the mistakes of Man Utd heavily outweighed the quality of Liverpool's performance and it was rather a freak result. This is further backed by Liverpool's latest match where they lost to bottom-placed Bournemouth 1-0. Man Utd players have been brilliant in this turnaround season but away matches at big teams have proven to be a real issue for these players mentally. Conceding 6 against City, 3 at Arsenal and now 7 at Liverpool, there are still glaring issues with the player's mindset when things go wrong and have to be addressed sooner rather than later. But Ten Hag has shown that he is aware of these issues and has the trust of the fans to ensure that the season still ends successfully.
