A late equaliser from Adam Lallana cancelled out Marcus Rashford‘s first-half opener as Manchester United and Liverpool shared the points at Old Trafford.
Late Adam Lallana Equaliser Snatches Point For Liverpool Against Manchester United
First Half
The opening exchanges were scrappy, with the pressure of the occasion getting to both sides. It was Liverpool who settled the better of the two sides, as the doubts over their recent form clearly affecting Manchester United.
Neither goalkeeper were forced into difficult saves early on. Alisson easily dealt with a long-range effort from Andreas Pereira, and the same can be said for David de Gea moments later.
United, on occasions, showed frailties in defence. However, they were well-drilled, dropping into a back five when Liverpool attacked. As a result, the visitors were find it difficult to break down their opposition.
Liverpool were the first to create a clear-cut chance. They broke on the break down the right-hand side through Sadio Mane, who drove into the final third. He then found Roberto Firmino at the edge of the area, whose tame effort was claimed by De Gea.
In the 36th minute Manchester United took the lead. Daniel James received the ball on the right-hand side from Scott McTominay. The Welshman then bombed down the right-hand side, before playing a cross into Marcus Rashford who nudged his effort past Alisson in the Liverpool goal.
Sadio Mane thought he had equalised for Liverpool two minutes before half-time. The Senegalese international got the better of Victor Lindelof, and cleverly placed his finish past David de Gea. However, it was ruled out by VAR, as the ball was found to have hit Mane’s hand during the buildup.
Second Half
In similar fashion to the first, the second half began in a fast-paced, scrappy manner. Neither side could grab control of the game, and much of the play was spent moving from side-to-side in midfield.
Liverpool – who were behind for only the second time this season – were struggling in attack. The absence of Mohammed Salah was clearly affecting their efforts, as Mane and Firmino were not creating problems for the United defence.
Marcus Rashford continued to cause problems for the Liverpool defence when called upon. His effort went just wide of the post following a surge towards the edge of the box.
Liverpool’s weakness in attack continued to be the tale of the half. They attacked with little threat, a contrast of their usual selves.
All of Manchester United’s hard work was undone as Liverpool equalised with five minutes to go. A ball in from the left-hand side found substitute Adam Lallana unmarked in the six-yard box for a simple tap-in.
Liverpool found a new lease of life and almost made it 2-1 in the 91st minute. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain saw his effort from 25 yards fire just past the post, much to the relief of Manchester United and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
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