Liverpool 1 Manchester United 2: tactical analysis

Manchester United won at Anfield for the first time since 2016 thanks to an 84th-minute header from Harry Maguire. The centre-back steered home a brilliant Bruno Fernandes cross to seal three points and condemn champions Liverpool to a fourth consecutive defeat in all competitions.

The game also started brilliantly for the visitors, with Bryan Mbeumo firing them ahead after just two minutes. Liverpool rallied, particularly ramping up the pressure in the second half as Arne Slot made several attacking substitutions. Cody Gakpo turned in a Federico Chiesa cross to level and ignite Liverpool hopes that the tide would turn, only for United to respond by sealing a morale-boosting victory.

How the managers saw it

“They come to us in a low block, playing so many long balls… the last thing you want is going 1-0 down,” said Slot. “If you would have told me we are 1-0 down against a United team that played in the style they did, and you would have told me that we would create eight, nine, 10 open chances, then I would have said to you that I don’t think that is possible. But it was possible. So, the second thing that went wrong is that from all the chances we got, we only scored one goal.”

“Sometimes the luck is so important in football,” said Ruben Amorim. “We had some games that we are playing well in and we suffer a goal. Today we start with a goal. I think twice Gakpo shot on the post. Sometimes we just need some moments to change the narrative of one game. We fought for every ball, we lost our composure in the second half, but the spirit was there and that is the most important thing.”

Liverpool’s numbers between the lines

Alexis Mac Allister moved forward in the attack from Liverpool’s initial 4-2-3-1. joining Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexander Isak between the lines. The latter often shifted across to attack against left centre-back Luke Shaw. Gakpo and Mohamed Salah, meanwhile, held the width so that Liverpool had five players placed on Manchester United’s back line. However, only Liverpool’s full-backs initially made attempts to threaten in behind (as with Conor Bradley, below). They were rarely found by their deeper teammates, though. 

United’s two widest midfielders became wary of Liverpool’s full-back runs from deep and began to mark tighter. At the same time, covering midfielders Casemiro and Bruno Fernandes prioritised central protection to stop Liverpool accessing the feet of their three narrowed attackers. That forced Liverpool’s front line to make more runs beyond, as when Isak missed a good chance to equalise from Konaté’s incisive through ball (below). Clipped passes over from deeper in-possession players also gave Liverpool a route in behind. Gakpo in particular caused problems from Liverpool’s left, hitting the woodwork twice, including once in the first half as the home side threatened space in behind United’s back five. 

United’s right side

The visitors took an early lead when Mbeumo was slipped in behind by Amad Diallo, and they continued to try to exploit via their right side throughout the first half. As Slot explained, United played relatively direct and, although they rarely won the first contact, their midfield unit and back line regularly secured the ball high on the next phase of play. From there, they searched for their right side as early and as often as possible. Wing-back Diallo was positioned a little deeper when receiving, to draw out Liverpool left-back Miloš Kerkez. This meant Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konaté were forced to cover across more than they may have liked, as Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha made clever movements in the inside channels (below).

Liverpool’s lack of cover, appropriate distances and overall organisation in central defence remained an issue for them throughout the first half, especially as Kerkez continued to press wide. United sometimes attacked with no central forward threat, with Cunha moving across in support of Mbeumo, combining and overloading around Kerkez.

United repeatedly exploited the inside channel gaps in the first half, with Fernandes’ penetrative passing from central midfield (below) helping to create some good chances. The away side were unable to add to their opener before half-time, but Liverpool’s vulnerability gave them encouragement.

Gung-ho second half

With Liverpool making no real attacking advances in the first 15 minutes of the second half, Slot made a triple change. Curtis Jones, Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitiké were introduced on 62 minutes for Conor Bradley, Ryan Gravenberch and Mac Allister.  Liverpool then converted into a 4-2-4 shape, with Jones and Wirtz as an unlikely pairing in the centre of midfield. When their narrow front line surged forward, Liverpool’s full-backs also looked to join the attack, at times supported by the two midfielders. Liverpool then had lots of runners going forward (below), sometimes outnumbering United’s back five. 

Despite creating chances and hitting the woodwork for a third time, Liverpool were initially unable to equalise. And as they were committing so many players forward, the game entered a period of regular transitions. This gave United opportunities to exploit Liverpool’s commitment to attack.

With Casemiro and Diallo cautioned, Amorim chose to add Patrick Dorgu as a left wing-back and Benjamin Šeško as the main centre-forward. Diogo Dalot attacked as right wing-back, but was more cautious with his runs forward, allowing Mbeumo to attack wider and isolate Kerkez 1v1. A deeper Cunha worked well with Fernandes, rotating between the lines to support Šeško, as well as Dorgu’s runs from deep on the left (below), as United went toe-to-toe with Liverpool for a period.

United eventually backed off and dropped into a low block. Some of their midfield unit ended up tracking their direct opponent all the way back, giving bodies to congest the space inside United’s defensive third. Liverpool responded by moving Wirtz wider, allowing Szoboszlai – now playing right-back – to support inside. Salah, Chiesa (on for Isak) and Ekitiké all tried to combine in the central spaces where possible, but found it challenging due to United’s defensive numbers. Kerkez supported around Gakpo, looking for a 2v1 against Dalot when possible, with Jones also moving higher from central midfield (below). Liverpool duly equalised through Gakpo, after Ekitiké, Wirtz and Chiesa had combined inside the box. 

The stage was set for Liverpool to push for a winning goal, but Maguire’s late header from the second phase of a set-piece won the points for the away side. It was the fifth goal Liverpool have conceded from a set-piece in just eight Premier League games this season. Gakpo should have equalised again, but missed the target with a header from a Jeremie Frimpong cross. The latter looked dangerous after being introduced for a misfiring Salah, who has now gone seven consecutive Premier League appearances without scoring a non-penalty goal for the first time in his Liverpool career. And so victory sent United into the top half of the table, just two points behind Liverpool, who are now four adrift of leaders Arsenal.

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