Manchester United defeated Liverpool 2-1 in a Premier League clash at Old Trafford on Saturday.
Much of the talk before the match had been about Liverpool, how they press, how they attack, how Mohamed Salah is the greatest player to play in the Premier League since Thierry Henry (yes, Cristiano we saw your frown).
However, all of it came to nought when Klopp’s men came up against the Great Wall of Manchester United. And David de Gea barely had to pull off his lightning-fast saves to keep Liverpool at bay where the Red Devils shut out Liverpool, while Marcus Rashford scored twice to open a five-point gap.
Except of Eric Bailly’s bizarre backheel flick goal, which he wouldn’t be able to reproduce in training, Liverpool barely threatened United’s defence until a late goalmouth scramble.
Here are five talking points from Manchester United’s 2-1 victory over Liverpool at Old Trafford:
Mourinho doesn’t need to keep the ball to win
Jose Mourinho doesn't believe keeping the ball is a virtue, in fact, his management revolves around the notion that keeping the ball is a sure-shot way to make mistakes. In that way it was a classic Mourinho tactical masterclass with Manchester United keeping only 33% of the possession, having three shots on goal of which two were on target. Both United goals came from long-balls to Lukaku, who caught the Liverpool defence sleeping twice.
After the match, Mourinho declared he didn’t ‘care if people thought United didn’t deserve it. He said: “Against Liverpool if you play bad when you have the ball you can be in trouble. In the second half it was not our intention – I cannot say this was the plan. Liverpool pushed us into defensive situations, but we kept control. It was a complete performance by us with two different halves. If people don’t think we deserved it, I don’t care.”
Like the game at the Emirates where the Gunners dominated, Liverpool couldn’t convert their possession into play. The only downside was an inexplicable Eric Bailly own goal, which even the defender would be hard-pressed to explain or pull off again in training.
Stop Salah – stop Liverpool
Mohamed Salah’s ineffective night was summed up right in the 96th minute of injury time when the Egyptian, who has been unstoppable throughout the season, skied the ball high into the stands instead of getting his shot on target. It was the end of a frustrating night for the player who saw little of the ball. Playing on the right side of Liverpool's flank, United’s left-back Ashely Young was instrumental in keeping Mohamed Salah quiet, never giving him a moment’s peace.
Salah's duck against Manchester United also meant that they are the only top six team the Egyptian didn't score against this season.
With Salah out of the picture, Liverpool’s other attacking talents failed to conjure up the kinds of performances they have done throughout the season.
Liverpool’s defence goes missing when it matters
Today was a match-up between two exciting English talents – Marcus Rashford and Trent Alexander-Arnold and the former easily came up on top. Not just Alexander-Arnold, but the entire Liverpool defence was guilty of snoozing for both Manchester United goals. The first one saw Lukaku easily beat out Lovren for a flick down from David de Gea’s excellent goal kick which saw Rashford get ahead of a somatic Alexander-Arnold before cutting back and curling it in with a powerful right shot.
The second goal could’ve been Xeroxed with De Gea’s long kick being helped on by Lukaku before a scramble saw Rashford put in in to double United’s lead.
It could’ve all been over in the 38th when Valencia’s cross-field pass to Sanchez found the Liverpool defence static. Sanchez found Mata without a soul nearby, but the Spaniard went for a spectacular bicycle kick and narrowly missed.
Rashford reminds us of his brilliance
The match was also one in which Rashford served a reminder of his prodigal talents. Having waned off in 2018 – this is the first Premier League match he started since Boxing Day – he grasped the spotlight with two explosive goals. Playing on the left flank, he was on the scene twice to put the ball past Karius with ease and make his compatriot Alexander-Arnold look stupid in the bargain.
The first goal in particular would remind fans of a marauding Portuguese who would often cut back before unleashing a powerful shot into the corner.
Despite one horror moment, Eric Bailly reminds Old Trafford of his talent
Manchester United have five centre-backs, but they always look poorer in defence without Eric Bailly, the Ivorian who has been missing through injury for too long. It might have been his first start since November, but he was absolutely compact and even had the audacity to pull of Zidane’s classic La Roulette on Mo Salah in the first half!
Except for a bizarre own goal, where instead of clearing he flicked in Leroy Sane’s cross to beat David de Gea, Eric Bailly had the near-perfect game as a centre back.
All in all, it was a classic Mourinho performance, reminiscent of many numbers he has pulled off in the past and it will again be catalogued as one of those tactical masterclasses that pundits hold up to prove the Portuguese manager’s pedigree.
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 "Liverpool's Mohamed Salah looks dejected after missing a scoring chance on Saturday")
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