Man United vs Liverpool 2-2: Red Devils Crush their Opponents to Deny them a Championship Shot

In the Premier League, Man United vs Liverpool drew 2-2 at Old Trafford thanks to goals from Bruno Fernandes and Kobbie Mainoo.

This was Jurgen Klopp’s final opportunity as Liverpool manager to extract revenge on Man United before he stands down this summer, and it was a return to the scene of vicious, last-minute Emirates FA Cup comeback victory only three weeks sooner.

With the exception of an early goal by Alejandro Garnacho that was disallowed due to an offside flag, the Merseyside visitors dominated the first forty-five minutes. Midway through the half, Luis Diaz made sure his team’s efforts were rewarded with a goal, but they could have taken a bigger lead with more precise finishing.

But in the second half, Man United came out of the dressing room and performed brilliantly. There was lead thanks to spectacular goals from Fernandes and Mainoo, but Mohamed Salah’s penalty meant that the points would not be shared.

Although Ten Hag’s team was able to undermine Klopp’s team once more, they will be disappointed that they were unable to defeat them.

It began exactly like the ferocious, blow-for-blow fight as in the FA Cup three weeks ago on this field.

With just 180 seconds remaining, academy graduate Alejandro Garnacho rounded the goalkeeper and finding the back of the net, but his goal was ruled offside because Fernandes’ through ball was slightly delayed.

After a single blink, Salah, the star player for Liverpool, was in midfield with the ball and used the outside of his boot to find teammate Dominik Szoboszlai. The international for Hungary fired a hard shot into the upper right corner, but Andre Onana’s strong hand stopped it.

Even though neither team ever seemed like they were close to conceding, the game in the next fifteen minutes found a rather even pace by the standards of these teams’ past encounters.

It was a set-piece that would prove to be Man United’s undoing in the first game. Darwin Nunez received the corner from Andy Robertson, and he skillfully flicked it over the heads of the defense pack and toward Diaz at the back post, where he was able to stab home from close range.

Five minutes later, captain Fernandes floated a deep free-kick into the penalty area, offering a little relief. When Casemiro, his midfield partner, grabbed hold of it and flashed the ball across the six-yard box, no red shirt was there to receive it.

After their first goal, the Merseysiders took control of the game. Around the halfway point, Salah and Nunez again threatened to score, raising serious concerns if they had been able to keep their shots on goal.

The crowd rose to its feet after a brilliant tackle on Nunez by Willy Kambwala during this period. Had he not timed it perfectly, it might have resulted in a penalty and possibly a card for the young defender.

Due to the difficulty in getting into the visitors’ half, Man United was unable to capitalize on their momentum and went into halftime with a goal deficit.

It would always take a moment of magic to shatter the Liverpudlian pressure that had been applied before halftime, and that moment came only five minutes after play resumed.

Jarell Quansah misplayed a pass across the halfway line, dribbling it invitingly in front of Fernandes, who looked up to see Caoimhin Kelleher stranded in no-man’s land after he had rushed up to help his side and squeeze the space.

Man United’s captain picked up on the mission right away.

With a daring strike from inside the center circle, he managed to take the ball beyond the goalkeeper’s hands and into the right-side post. The Portuguese leader had unexpectedly pulled Man United back into the match.

Similar to how Liverpool’s first-half goal had galvanized Ten Hag’s team, number eight’s fantastic long-range effort found more opportunities to score and was only kept out of the net a few times by Kelleher’s palms.

As the game headed into its last twenty minutes, though, there was nothing the Irish keeper could do to avoid Mainoo’s wrath.

The breakout Academy star played a key role in the build-up, assisted by Casemiro’s overhead kick forward that moved the ball through midfield and into the box where Aaron Wan-Bissaka again found him with his back to goal.

In this tumultuous match, Man United took the lead for the first time thanks to an instinctive curled shot from the 18-year-old, who never once looked goalwards. His strike settled precisely in the top-right corner.

Man United looked to be in control going into the last few minutes, but opponents were given a chance to re-enter the contest when Wan-Bissaka went to ground seconds after Casemiro was called for a handball. Wan-Bissaka was trying to take the ball away from substitute Harvey Elliott inside the box.

Anthony Taylor, the referee, pointed to the location right away. Salah took the penalty kick and scored it with ease to tie the score for his team.

In stoppage time, Diaz had a chance to score, but Onana gratefully watched as the Colombian’s attempt from yards out went over the crossbar. Antony then had a chance, but Kelleher saved it. Elliott’s soft shot at Onana ended another intense encounter.