[DickDastardly]

They had aerial dominance, and that's about it.

Their chances? Two headers from a corner that could have gone in. That's it.

Our chances? That Garnacho chance was a solid one.
And the Rasmus one where he straight up shot at Allison.

Could have sneaked a smash and grab and it wouldn't have been undeserved.

 

[big_jeffstar]

Shocking that he benched Varane for no reason, he was immense today. Mainoo predictably our best midfielder by far. Our attack is laughably bad.

I think he told you why he benched him the press conference
“Sometimes you need kick up ass”
maybe he was getting complacent? Maybe he wants to find out who the fighters are? And who’s quick to jump ship when the going gets tough.. you don’t bench a player like Varane for no reason at all

 

[DON’T PANIC ™]

They had aerial dominance, and that's about it.

Their chances? Two headers from a corner that could have gone in. That's it.

Our chances? That Garnacho chance was a solid one.
And the Rasmus one where he straight up shot at Allison.

Could have sneaked a smash and grab and it wouldn't have been undeserved.

McTominay also had a decent opportunity but blazed it high and wide.

 

[Tap]

An unexpected great point to get at Anfield. Well done to the players and ETH

 

[justsomebloke]

They had aerial dominance, and that's about it.

Their chances? Two headers from a corner that could have gone in. That's it.

Our chances? That Garnacho chance was a solid one.
And the Rasmus one where he straight up shot at Allison.

Could have sneaked a smash and grab and it wouldn't have been undeserved.

If you wanna talk about the quality and quantity of chances, that's the exact thing that xG actually gives you. At least better than trying to make out exactly which of each team's finishes actually counts as a real chance.

And quantity matters. They had 34 shots. Every one of them could have gone in. Even the worst of shot can take a lucky bounce off a knee or shoulder. The more shots, the bigger the chance of a lucky break.

 

[Kingofwinners]

Man United to me has always been a real club, I feel everything deeply, wins losses etc. I hate Liverpool and Leeds but respect that they are real clubs too. Losing 7:0 to Liverpool was a real low point. Most of the rest of us, me included dreaded today and had no expectations only fears. But them men, limited footballers, old lads and young lads went out and got us a result. It’s not where we want to be but they stood up and stopped us from being a laughing stock. They will never be remembered and most of them probably need to be moved on but they did a job that needed to be done today and I thank everyone of them for that.

 

[Gator Nate]

I think he told you why he benched him the press conference
“Sometimes you need kick up ass”
maybe he was getting complacent? Maybe he wants to find out who the fighters are? And who’s quick to jump ship when the going gets tough.. you don’t bench a player like Varane for no reason at all

I suspect that, after Varane's injuries, there was a bit of hesitation putting him out for heavy minutes too fast while Maguire was strong. The Varane-Maguire combination has never seemed to work well. Now that Maguire is out, moving Varane back in is easy, and he's had extra time to build up strength.

 

[Smithy89]

Isn't it amazing what happens when you play a proper double pivot, he's finally getting it.

Need Casemiro with Mainoo badly though.

 

[justsomebloke]

I suspect that, after Varane's injuries, there was a bit of hesitation putting him out for heavy minutes too fast while Maguire was strong. The Varane-Maguire combination has never seemed to work well. Now that Maguire is out, moving Varane back in is easy, and he's had extra time to build up strength.

Can anyone explain though why Varane was playing on the left and Evans on the right? I thought the whole point was that Varane could only be used on the right, and that's why he couldn't play at the same time as Maguire?

 

[Gator Nate]

Isn't it amazing what happens when you play a proper double pivot, he's finally getting it.

Need Casemiro with Mainoo badly though.

He had no alternative - he was forced to do it. The question is: Does he accept the lesson to be learned from the experience?

 

[Smithy89]

He had no alternative - he was forced to do it. The question is: Does he accept the lesson to be learned from the experience?

I'm hoping when Bruno is back he doesn't resort to a 433 again with Amrabat on his own.

 

[always_hoping]

Mad to think that was United's first draw in the Premier League for 24 games ( 2-2 v Spurs in April)

 

[JediSith]

Can anyone explain though why Varane was playing on the left and Evans on the right? I thought the whole point was that Varane could only be used on the right, and that's why he couldn't play at the same time as Maguire?

I’m guessing Varane is more agile and better on the balm than Evans. But in an ideal world Varane would be RCB with Martinez LCB

 

[Oranges038]

I thought if ETH setup today like he did, Utd could have got a result. 2 great chances to score, but you have to take them when they come. If he stuck to his regular setup, they probably would have ran riot. Glad that he saw some sense and went into this game with a plan to nullify them and also to beat their press, which worked well quite a few times.

I think Liverpool are very predictable, they do not play good football. They spam long balls, spam long diagonals and spam crosses into the box, fight for 50/50s, aerial duels and bouncing balls. Utd set up today like Palace did last week. Get setup behind the ball, stay in shape and force them to play around you, push them out wide so dealing with the crosses coming from deep wide areas is easier than letting them get in behind.

They really do rely on games becoming open and scrappy, so they can stretch teams in behind. We saw that when the game did open up a bit, they looked more dangerous. Their midfield lacks a real cutting edge, Klopp's answer is always to put TAA in there and have him start lumping balls from the middle over the top or smashing it into feet around the box for flicks around the corner.

I have no doubt that it is horrible to play against, because they do it relentlessly and at pace, so invariably they will get one or two balls that will drop kindly, thankfully that didn't happen today. I can see more teams adopting this approach against them and fully expect them to drop quite a few points between now and the end of the season. I don't think they are seriosus title contenders.

 

[Glaswegian Red]

People can be negative all they like but with our current situation, I have to say that I am ecstatic with that result.

Most of us were terrified of being humiliated yet again but the majority of the lads stood up today and were counted. Varane was immense and should always be the first name on the team sheet when fit. A proven winner. Evans who many laughed or were angry at the signing of has really yet to let us down. I mean we all know he was signed for short term cover but it’s turned out to be a shrewd bit of business. Onana had a very decent game and Mainoo looks like he could be the real deal.

Unpopular opinion but I’d like to see Bruno join Rashford on the bench for a few games to see how we go. All in all very pleased today.

 

[r0663664]

There are many things wrong with ten Hag, it seems he does have favourites and it is the players that is discarded that save his ass. Varane was fantastic in this game, Maguire has been good in the last 2 months and McTominay with winners. However, his favourites get to play regardless of their limitations. That's something I think is wrong. He needs to learn how to rotate players so there is no complacency and play players for tactical reasons, not blindly play certain players regardless of opposition. Most of our defeats are due to naivety from the managers. He should know that McTominay is a super sub when a goal is needed. He should know that we need 2 midfield to play better possession football. It really doesn't take a certified coach or manager to know all these.

 

[Cantonagotmehere]

Man United to me has always been a real club, I feel everything deeply, wins losses etc. I hate Liverpool and Leeds but respect that they are real clubs too. Losing 7:0 to Liverpool was a real low point. Most of the rest of us, me included dreaded today and had no expectations only fears. But them men, limited footballers, old lads and young lads went out and got us a result. It’s not where we want to be but they stood up and stopped us from being a laughing stock. They will never be remembered and most of them probably need to be moved on but they did a job that needed to be done today and I thank everyone of them for that.

Well said mate. All I wanted today was effort, and they gave us that. And I wanted Mainoo to play well and got that too...

 

[NewGlory]

I think you should watch the interview. It was extremely disrespectful.

He is a Liverpool manager who failed to beat us at Anfield, despite all odds. Trying to say something passive-aggressive is in his job description, for days like today.

His words can only hurt if you let them. Don't. Whatever he says, we couldn't care less

 

[justsomebloke]

They deserve credit for showing real fight in a game where they were widely expected to be crushed. And the result is progress - remember, we have lost every single game we've played against a top 8 side before today, and only once by less than two goals.

But I'm not getting too carried away. That was not a quality football team we saw out there. Backing into the box as soon as the ball was in our third, both wide forwards dropping back to defend vigorously in a 6-player line, no high press, little to no ability to play through the midfield, very little possession, a limited number of chances created from quick counters.

That's how you'd describe a relegation zone team stealing a point off a contender through desperate rearguard action, and that in truth was exactly what we looked like.

Individually; I thought it was another strong game from Mainoo, the whole back four as well (unsurprisingly, given the character of the match). But Amrabat was absolutely atrocious - increasingly obvious that he's simply overmatched on this level. McTominay largely useless, and the front 3 generally ineffectual, though Antony did sterling defensive work in the second half. Maybe they should convert him to a left wing back or something.

 

[Belisarius]

I was praying for the best, I would have settled for us losing 2-0, but expecting the worst, but instead we fielded a team who at last showed some spirit and fight, and plenty of it! Liverpool were dominant in possesion, as was to be expected, but our players chased them down and harried them so effectivley Liverpool couldnt make it pay. We also made a few chances and gave the Scousers a few scares and but for our continuing woeful final ball and chance taking could have won! The referee gave us nothing and penalised our players when nothing wrong had occurred, and Dalots sending off was a joke! But we came off the pitch heads held high and at the end our supporters were the ones making all the noise!
And Kobbie Mainoo is a star and has to start more regularly, in fact every match!
For the first time this season we had a team to be proud of in the way they matched Liverpool and fought for every inch of the pitch.....why though dont we see this more often? And what can we expect next time? The good, the bad or the bloody awful? But my weekend has been really lifted and I'll dine on this performance for a long time!

Good post. I'm with you.

 

[justsomebloke]

I'm hoping when Bruno is back he doesn't resort to a 433 again with Amrabat on his own.

If Amrabat plays again after that performance, I give up.

 

[justsomebloke]

People can be negative all they like but with our current situation, I have to say that I am ecstatic with that result.

Most of us were terrified of being humiliated yet again but the majority of the lads stood up today and were counted. Varane was immense and should always be the first name on the team sheet when fit. A proven winner. Evans who many laughed or were angry at the signing of has really yet to let us down. I mean we all know he was signed for short term cover but it’s turned out to be a shrewd bit of business. Onana had a very decent game and Mainoo looks like he could be the real deal.

Unpopular opinion but I’d like to see Bruno join Rashford on the bench for a few games to see how we go. All in all very pleased today.

What, do you think that looked like a midfield that is going to win us games? We created almost nothing (and what little we did, on counters), while they had 34 shots. You don't win many games like that. Personally I fervently hope to never see that midfield constellation again, and we drew despite it, not because of it.

 

[JagUTD]

Last on MOTD. Bet they had every planned out for a n easy Liverpool win.

 

[Glaswegian Red]

What, do you think that looked like a midfield that is going to win us games? We created almost nothing (and what little we did, on counters), while they had 34 shots. You don't win many games like that. Personally I fervently hope to never see that midfield constellation again, and we drew despite it, not because of it.

I never said I wanted that particular midfield nor did I say it would win us games. I did however say that I wanted Bruno benched. We do have other midfield options.

 

[kerrygold]

He had no alternative - he was forced to do it. The question is: Does he accept the lesson to be learned from the experience?

I’m guessing his stubbornness returns and he reverts back to norm next game.

 

[RedRonaldo]

Great draw at Anfield. I thought we work very hard for the draw so we deserve that point. Varane and Mainoo is very impressive, we should play them more.

 

[Betson]

Actually quite disappointed with the result in the end ,we created the best chances and when you set up like we did today you need to take those chances.

There was a real chance of a smash and grab result today if we were more composed and clinical with our finishing , but that has been an issue for a while now and one we still have not addressed.

 

[Herschel Krustofsky]

The XG chat in this thread is dire.

A really depressing way to ‘watch’ your football

 

[Oranges038]

Actually quite disappointed with the result in the end ,we created the best chances and when you set up like we did today you need to take those chances.

There was a real chance of a smash and grab result today if we were more composed and clinical with our finishing , but that has been an issue for a while now and one we still have not addressed.

So was I, felt with a bit more pace on the counter there were more opportunities to be had. Utd created the best/more clear cut scoring chances.

Genuinely think they underestimated Utd today and thought this was going to be a piece of piss.

People will also look at the stats and xg, but most of their shots were from range or efforts from set pieces, their finishing from open play was poor, everytime they had a shot commentary seemed to say "you'd want someone else coming onto that". They didn't trouble Onana with a decent save at all.

 

[United888]

Draw is never a good result for man united but we are losing lot of main players while Rashford is off form. So in the current circumstance, this is actually a good result in Anfield. It’s a result that we can build on and we can see some positive in this for the rest of the season.

When the likes of Martinez, Casemiro, Eriksen/Mount, and Bruno are back, we will be much better. Then if Rashford can get his goal scoring form back in addition to those 5 players back from injury, we will be capable to beat any teams.

Mainoo looks good and I hope we are starting him more often for the rest of the season to develop him so we can make him one of our main starting XI player next season.

 

[Gator Nate]

The XG chat in this thread is dire.

A really depressing way to ‘watch’ your football

My mention of XG was to highlight the fact that Pool had little quality to their chances - whereas last time they were scoring every time it was near the right direction, this time they weren't taking good shots and Onana had some easy saves. 34 shots for an XG of less than 3? 8 on target for an XG of less than 3? Our defense was doing a great job of making it difficult for them, and the XG reinforced what I was watching on the television.

 

[davidmichael]

They were better on the ball but we had the better chances, I’d love to hear that cnut Oliver explain why Nunez wasn’t sent off for dissent and clapping straight after being booked for a foul yet Dalot gets sent off for dissent that they’ve decided to say was twice ? fecking ridiculous decision and double standards yet again.

 

[Tyrion]

Last on MOTD. Bet they had every planned out for a n easy Liverpool win.

That's bizarre. It's a game between 2nd and 7th and the two biggest clubs in the country.

 

[tentan]

Great result. Now watch we lose 3-0 to West ham.

 

[Dr Foo]

EtH can clearly set up a team to nullify/ be competitive against the better teams if he wants to. He needs to revert to a double pivot for now.

McTominay… is wow, not in a way for a top 10 club

Varane - there better be a good reason why he was kept out of the team for so long

The theme of discarded out of favour players coming back in to save the day continues (McTominay somehow becoming a first name on the team sheet and captain, Maguire, now Varane hopefully for good)

 

[Oranges038]

That's bizarre. It's a game between 2nd and 7th and the two biggest clubs in the country.

Not really.

It was a shite 0-0, they usually stick them at the end.

 

[peridigm]

EtH can clearly set up a team to nullify/ be competitive against the better teams if he wants to. He needs to revert to a double pivot for now.

McTominay… is wow, not in a way for a top 10 club

Varane - there better be a good reason why he was kept out of the team for so long

The theme of discarded out of favour players coming back in to save the day continues (McTominay somehow becoming a first name on the team sheet and captain, Maguire, now Varane hopefully for good)

Just think, if Hojlund was a bit more experienced, we could have walked away with all 3 pts.

 

[El Presidente]

I never said I wanted that particular midfield nor did I say it would win us games. I did however say that I wanted Bruno benched. We do have other midfield options.

As in Hannibal? Because there's literally no one else.
Please don't say McTominay in the 10.

 

[croadyman]

We restored some pride after last two seasons at Anfield. Loving the piss that performance boiled with the ABU'S too. Think Rasmus takes that chance IF he had some league goals behind him.

 

[Dr Foo]

Just think, if Hojlund was a bit more experienced, we could have walked away with all 3 pts.

Yea… I have a lot of sympathies for the lad. For the amount we spent, it should have been for a more experienced striker, who would likely have pulled the trigger.