Examining Liverpool’s Annoying Draw With Manchester United in Further Details

We examine the implications of the draw, which felt like a defeat for the Reds, for the team.

That one ached. Liverpool utterly dominated a very poor Manchester United team in the league for the second time this season, but they were unable to secure a victory. Despite being dominated for the majority of the game, the hosts prevailed thanks to a brilliant shot from Kobie Mainoo and a simple blunder from youthful Jarell Quansah, which gave Manchester United hope. Liverpool made a late comeback, but was unable to win the game.

Below, we examine a few winners and losers from the evening and make an effort to separate fact from fiction.

Winners

Harvey Elliott

Once more, the youthful midfielder was impressive as he came off the bench. Whenever he dribbled or passed and crossed, he constantly posed a threat. He completely outran Aaron Wan-Bissaka on the dribble to earn the penalty that allowed Liverpool to claw their way back into the game.

Andy Robertson

Returning to the starting lineup, the Scotsman performed admirably. With four crucial passes, he co-led the team and posed a continuous threat down the left side. He made some excellent deliveries into the box that were worthy of greater results.

Arsenal

Based on goal differential, the Gunners top the table at the end of the weekend. It was not a sentence I enjoyed writing.

Losers

Securing the victory over the dross;
Liverpool dominated the first half, outshooting the hosts 15-0 and finished with a 1-0 lead after surviving a wild first few minutes of play. Dominik Szoboszlai, Luis Diaz, Mohamed Salah, and Darwin Núñez all missed some excellent opportunities to score. The Reds would later lament not being able to take advantage of any of the golden opportunities to end the game. The fact that they outshot Manchester United 62-15 over the course of two Premier League games, but lost both of them, just serves to exacerbate the pain.

62 – Liverpool had 62 shots in their two Premier League matches against Man Utd this season (34 Anfield, 28 Old Trafford); no side has ever had more against a single opponent in a season on record (from 2003-04) in the competition. Peppered. pic.twitter.com/SVW2JAt6O6

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) April 7, 2024

Taking Charge of Destiny

Liverpool and Arsenal are officially tied on points after the draw, but they are also nine goals behind on goal differential. If Liverpool wants to send Jürgen Klopp packing with a Premier League title, they will need to play flawlessly and hope that Arsenal makes mistakes along the way, as Manchester City is only one point behind.

Anthony Taylor

To be clear, the match was decided by the officiating in this instance. Taylor is still just as much of a git for his abject performance in the middle of the pitch.

From Jurgen Klopp

“We never dominated United like we did in these two games, but we didn’t win them, in all the time I’ve been here.”

What Follows

Liverpool’s hectic schedule continues on Thursday when they play again in Europe, so they will need to get over the setback. Liverpool will try to continue their pursuit of a European championship when they visit Atalanta in the first leg of the Europa League quarterfinals.