Man United 0-0 Liverpool: Talking points as mental cracks show with opportunity missed

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  • Mohamed Salah is substituted at Old Trafford

    Liverpool took back top spot in the Premier League, but failed to take full advantage of three Manchester United first-half substitutions as they were held to a 0-0 draw at Old Trafford.

    Jurgen Klopp’s men lead Manchester City by just a single point with both sides now 27 games through the campaign. But the German will be deeply concerned after another listless performance in 2019, one full of imprecision.

    United were without an injured Nemanja Matic and were dealt further blows when the game kicked off as Ander Herrera, Juan Mata and the Spaniard’s replacement Jesse Lingard were all substituted through injury by 43 minutes.

    Roberto Firmino was another to exit early after rolling his ankle, while Marcus Rashford also struggled with an issue of his own despite completing 90 minutes.

    Liverpool dominated possession but the hosts created the better opportunities. Here, we examine the key talking points from the visitor’s perspective.

    MENTAL FRAGILITY

    Jurgen Klopp

    Jurgen Klopp

    In ordinary circumstances, a point and a clean sheet at Old Trafford would be viewed in a more positive light.

    After all, Liverpool have now completed all their trips to inhabitants of the top six and are a point ahead of City atop the Premier League with 11 games to go.

    That, unequivocally, is a great position to be in. But the context which underpins this performance is worrying from a Liverpool perspective.

    They are playing their worst football of the season, at comfortably the worst time. We are almost three months into 2019 and Klopp’s outfit have failed to produce a statement victory.

    This should have been it. United were ripped apart by injury before and during the game.

    There was very little threat coming Liverpool’s way and yet they played as if they had something to fear.

    The only reason Liverpool failed to take three points from Old Trafford was because they didn’t have the right character. Quality wasn’t an issue, because they held the advantage in that department.

    Mental fragility is not the trait of champions.

    LIVERPOOL’S IMPRECISION

    Mohamed Salah was nullified by the United defence.

    Mohamed Salah was nullified by the United defence.

    This feeds into the previous point, but one of the biggest frustrations about Liverpool since the turn of the year is their imprecision.

    And that’s not just in possession either. The movement of the attackers was just all wrong.

    Mohamed Salah, Daniel Sturridge (brought on for Firmino) and Sadio Mane were all at fault for not shifting United’s deep block out of position. They stood rooted and floated into nothing positions which eliminated them from receiving the ball as Georginio Wijnaldum, or even Joel Matip, progressed into the final third.

    Ultimately, the three players who were supposed to effect this game most expected someone else to do it.

    And that was the situation against Bayern Munich in midweek, as well. There was not one progressive player around United’s box.

    You couldn’t fault the build-up play because once more the midfielders were largely efficient at quickly moving the ball forward.

    Wijnaldum for his part produced Liverpool’s most shots (two), most dribbles (four) and was fouled the most (three). Salah, Mane and Sturridge as a collective managed only three dribbles, two shots and zero key passes despite touching the ball 118 times.

    The former two had the worst pass accuracy from Liverpool’s starting XI. That just about sums how poor the attack was.

    MILNER MISERY

    James Milner

    James Milner

    It seems wrong to apportion blame to James Milner when for one, he’s not a full-back and two, he’s served the club so well through his tactical versatility.

    However, he was consistently Liverpool’s most free player in attacking areas and his crossing from the right was absolutely diabolical.

    From 17 crosses the 33-year-old only found a team-mate with three of them, and on at least two, it was the wrong type of delivery anyway as he lofted the ball as opposed to driving it across the deck.

    He just lacked everything when in possession and against a disrupted Manchester United, a dysfunctional display from their most consistent performer was not what was needed.

    Klopp opted against Trent Alexander-Arnold and that was perhaps a reasonable decision before kick off given he’s just returned from injury and was roasted by Rashford in this fixture last season.

    But this game was a perfect representation of just why he is so key to the way Liverpool play. Having him fully fit will be crucial for the remaining months.

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