Manchester United 1-1 Liverpool: Talking points from Old Trafford
Manchester United battled back to earn a 1-1 draw with visitors Liverpool at Old Trafford on Sunday.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic came up with the all important equaliser for the hosts with just six minutes to play, after James Milner had fired in from the penalty spot in the first half.
Here, we take a look at the talking points from an intriguing contest and assess what the result means for both teams’ Premier League ambitions…
Zlatan to the rescue – but should it have counted?
Zlatan Ibrahimovic came to Manchester United’s rescue with an 84th-minute equaliser against Liverpool. Stooping to head home Antonio Valencia’s knock-back across goal, the Swede looped the ball over Simon Mignolet to grab a point for the hosts.
It was Ibrahimovic’s 14th Premier League goal since joining from PSG in the summer, putting him joint-top of the scoring charts. Without his goals United would be 13 points worse off.
But should Ibrahimovic’s leveller have stood? Liverpool could rightly feel aggrieved by a poor call from the linesman in the build-up to the goal, as Valencia was clearly ahead of play when he received a pass from Juan Mata on the right flank.
“This is offside,” said Sky Sports pundit Graeme Souness. “The linesman is in totally the wrong position, doesn’t see it and that’s what they get the goal from. But it’s hard to deny United a point because they did push.” His fellow pundit, Thierry Henry, however, was keen to point out that “there was a lot of football played after that decision”.
United go long and direct with Fellaini and Ibrahimovic
A left-flank cross from Wayne Rooney towards substitute Marouane Fellaini led to United’s equaliser, with the big Belgian heading onto the post before Valencia teed-up Ibrahimovic – and it was that switch to a more direct style in the second half which gave Liverpool problems.
In total Manchester United made 99 long passes compared to Liverpool’s 75, with the majority of those coming after the interval. Indeed, United made just five crosses in the opening 45 minutes but, with Fellaini joining Ibrahimovic in the box, they tested the visitors’ centre-backs with 14 crosses in the second half.
| First half | Second half | |
|---|---|---|
| Crosses | 5 | 14 |
With his team trailing at the break, Jose Mourinho sought another way to get a result and he found it. “They gave up trying to take Liverpool on with passing and moving and what they have been doing of late and they went long,” explained Souness. “Right from the start of the second half they were by-passing midfield.
“Liverpool came under a different type of pressure. Manchester United launched it, they went long. Ibrahimovic is a big unit, they brought on Fellaini and that really turned the game – not by any clever or cute football but by being direct. But there’s more than one way to win…