Liverpool 0 Manchester United 1
For 78 minutes the Manchester United supporters had been bored rigid at Anfield yet they were left celebrating long and loud after the final whistle following Wayne Rooney’s late winner against Liverpool. It was tedious, it was bereft of entertainment and quality but it did not matter to United as they savoured a scarcely merited victory over their fierce rivals that will reaffirm Louis van Gaal’s belief in his soul-sapping methods.
United were on the back foot for much of a contest that showed why both protagonists began the day sixth and ninth in the Premier League. But Rooney struck with the visitors’ first shot on target to leave Jürgen Klopp lamenting missed chances and Liverpool’s continued failure to defend set pieces. The United captain profited after Marouane Fellaini, another former Evertonian, had headed against the bar from a corner.
The visitors denied Liverpool the high-tempo start they like on these Anfield occasions by controlling possession and turning Klopp’s pressing game on its head but it was the home side who produced the only threatening moments of a first half high on commitment but low on quality.
Liverpool’s composure and accuracy on the ball increased gradually with Lucas Leiva a reassuring presence in holding midfield but ineffective summed up the entire opening period. There was little to warm Anfield against the icy January chill.
Lucas was Klopp’s only change from the side who started the 3-3 draw against Arsenal on Wednesday, replacing Jordon Ibe, and the defensive move ensured Ander Herrera was unable to supply Rooney from an advanced No10 role with Fellaini switched to central midfield.
Fellaini and Lucas had their run-ins, accidentally when they clashed heads early on and later when the Brazilian accused the Belgian of attempting to rake his shins. The referee, Mark Clattenburg, correctly diffused the contretemps without the need of a yellow card.
Liverpool had spent the first 10 minutes encamped inside their own half when they almost punished United with a long ball over the top. Jordan Henderson and James Milner combined to dispossess Morgan Schneiderlin and Adam Lallana was suddenly clean through on goal when Lucas’s pass sailed over Danny Blind. Lallana opted for a first-time header, saved almost on the 18-yard line by David de Gea, and though the rebound broke kindly for Roberto Firmino he was unable to reproduce his accuracy against Arsenal and shot tamely wide.
Milner almost profited from a first-time ball down Liverpool’s right channel too, driving Firmino’s pass wide from a tight angle, and Henderson twice shot over from distance while also missing the best chance of the opening half. In contrast to United, the home side’s one-touch football improved considerably as the game wore on and a slick exchange between Lucas, Henderson, Lallana and Firmino released the captain inside the area. Henderson pulled his shot wide of De Gea’s far post, however.
Van Gaal’s side were measured but rarely threatened until Rooney’s late breakthrough. Not even the chance to pressure Simon Mignolet from a corner was taken with Blind swinging a series of awful deliveries away from the Liverpool goalkeeper. Herrera’s sliced shot wide in the 30th minute represented United’s first attempt on goal. The decision to play the left-winger Ashley Young at right-back was aborted shortly before the break when he exited injured following an innocuous challenge on Milner.
Mercifully the second half was more open, enterprising and interesting, the latter the least that should be expected when these clubs meet.
Greater adventure from Emre Can twice came close to giving Liverpool the lead. Moments after the restart the German international took Lallana's pass and burst beyond Chris Smalling inside the area, but his low shot was deflected wide by De Gea. The United keeper produced a superior save from Can's 25-yard drive, clawing away Firmino's return for good measure, and was relieved when Henderson side-footed tamely into his arms despite having a free shot from the edge of the area. The missed chances, while not in the gilt-edged category, proved costly.
Anthony Martial went close with a low shot across the face of Mignolet’s goal but United’s travelling contingent had been given no cause for optimism, and jeered Van Gaal’s decision to withdraw Herrera for Memphis Depay, before finding themselves rejoicing in Rooney’s decisive strike.
Blind, no doubt learning from earlier errors, played a short corner to Juan Mata and his inviting cross was headed against the bar by Fellaini, towering above the Liverpool centre-backs Mamadou Sakho and Kolo Touré. The ball bounced back to the unmarked United captain who lashed an unstoppable shot into the roof of the net from close range. It was Rooney’s 176th league goal for United – the most a player has scored for one Premier League club – the seventh goal Liverpool have conceded from a corner this season – more than any other side – and, most revealingly, the visitors’ first shot on target. Smash and grab seems fair enough.
Klopp threw Christian Benteke and the central defender Steven Caulker into his attack once again but, unlike Arsenal, United held firm.
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