• United's desperate need for a creative attacking midfielder and at least one other midfielder is gravely highlighted once again. Untied were completely battered in the first half by repeated isolating through balls in wide areas. However the clear margin of quality between both sides can be picked as a very rational explanation but the sub par and shambolic midfield set up should and cannot be overlooked. The back line was continuously exposed by a weakened midfield characterized by the Ill mobility of an ageing Nemanja Matic directly exposing the spaces created by the attacking movements and contributions of perhaps United's most consistent player this season Fred. The Brazilian machine widely renowned for his recovery and work rate was completely helpless in majority of the first half whilst tactically fulfilling his role in a more attacking set up whenever united were on the ball. Matic's ability to retain possession in the most compacted areas may be well still potent but his passing and defensive superiority has been drastically lost, he was guilty of misplacing passes and repeatedly loosing his marker whenever United were hit on the counter courtesy of misplaced passes. It was almost as if Luke Shaw was the defensive midfielder, he was repeatedly doing Matic's job and effectively keeping Mohammed Salah quite at the same time. The biggest problem yet remains the absence of creative number ten. Andreas Periera had a performance which was nothing less that abysmal and something well below mediocrity. The academy product was unable to perform the basic skills of a footballer, his passes, first touch, movement and defensive contributions were largely ineffective and can be held guilty for missing the best chance of the game. The exclusion of Juan Mata was unexpected but Ole can pull up the ineffectiveness of the Spaniard in a physically demanding game as a pick up excuse. A lot of final passes were misplaced something which drastically diminished the number of chances united could savage in a game where they faced a very superior opponent. This game gravely reiterated United's need of an agile and proper attacking midfielder to not only solve the creative shortcomings of the team but also soothe Ole Gunnar Solksjear's pressing physical demands. United may want to speed up negotiations with Sporting cp to get Bruno Fernandez in and solve these problems both short term and long term.
• Liverpool are on course for their first Premier league win whilst shattering a lot of records en route to the promise land. This current crop of Liverpool players are surprisingly living the dreams of every great English team of the past. They are on course to win their first premier league title with the most points ever, most wins ever and with the holy Grail of all, they are set to have an unbeaten season. This feat has only been lived by Arsene Wenger's invincibles and after numerous years of asking another premier league team is set to recreate such spectacle with a better record, that should go down as the most insane moment of the new decade if it ever happens even though we are only at the birth of the new decade. I personally don't want them to in all sincerity but they are well capable of replicating a full unbeaten season.
• Harry Maguire is unfairly criticized. The newly appointed captain has been thrown under unfair scrutiny and criticism since his record breaking move to United last Summer. The contributions of the English man has evidently improved United's build up and composure at the back whilst adding defensive enforcement and intelligent passing channels. The physically imposing center back was directly labeled woeful and criticized for Liverpool's opener after the match even though he was evidently glued to his marker and helplessly attempted to prevent Virgil Van Dijk's header whilst being pinned and pulled down by Gomez. The united captain repeatedly intercepted dangerous through balls and attacks, providing a very crucial block to Jordan Henderson's shot and effectively provided more forward passes than most of the out field players. In a nutshell he had a solid all round performance.
• Trent Alexander Arnold is Liverpool's weak link in defence. The creative full back may currently be the best attacking right back in the world but his defensive abilities are woeful perhaps why he's always caught out whenever he's faced with a pacey and skillful winger. He was repeatedly battered by Anthony Martial and majority of all United's potent attacks were launched from his flank. This may be less than a problem giving the Merseyside club always dominate their opponents but that may well be a nerve cracking problem for Jurgen Kloop to solve whenever their faced with an equally potent attacking side.
.• Marcus Rashford gravely missed. The absence of Marcus Rashford indefatigably afforded Liverpool more leverage and comfort whenever they ventured forward creating a less promising atmosphere for United's counter attacking endeavors. It was no surprise Liverpool enjoyed the absence of perhaps the most prominent exponent of United's counter attacking style. His marauding attacking runs, constant decisive movements and ability to shoot from range were all missed and evidently missing in United's game. With the English youngster poised to miss nothing short of six weeks on the sideline united would need Daniel James amongst a host of other teammates to step up their games if at all they are to salvage their season. They may also source the transfer market for short term reinforcements as suggested by Ole's press conference.
• Terrible officiating. In a match of major significance of this sort poor officiating can directly make or break the outcome of the tie, however this wasn't entirely the case but Craig Pawson can be criticized for some questionable decisions. About ten minutes after the opener David De gea's attempt to clutch onto Salah's floating cross was interrupted by Virgil Van Dijk's fruitless challenge for the ball in the goal keepers box. To the shock of many the referee allowed play to continue building up to Roberto Firminho's curling effort which he clinically finished. The united goalkeeper expressed his frustration and anger and was shown a yellow card after the goal was reversed by VAR. Another questionable decision was the incident before the second goal where Juan Mata was flagged offside before Allison dispatched a drifting ball to Mohammed Salah to slot in without the ball being stopped and taken for the offside call. Decisions like this can ruin any tie.
• David De Gea assured performance. The dedication and form of the Spanish shot stopper had been widely questioned in recent weeks but his performance at Anfield was one of the shining lights of the game. He produced two nerve cracking saves. The first to deny Sadio Mane in the first half was reminiscent of vintage David De Gea until he produced a save of genius to deny Jordan Henderson a goal in the match. With crucial players sidelined with injuries united would need their goalkeeper at the helm of their top performers week in week out.
0 Comments