Liverpool 2 Manchester United 2: tactical analysis

Manchester United confounded the form book to take a deserved point from this visit to Premier League leaders Liverpool. Seeking to avoid a fourth straight league defeat, United could even have claimed all three points, only for Harry Maguire to miss a last-minute chance to stun Anfield. As it was, the draw meant Liverpool neither gained nor conceded ground in the title race, keeping them six points clear of Arsenal with a game in hand. It was a morale-boosting display for United, but they still languish 13th in the table.

United took the lead thanks to a rasping finish from defender Lisandro Martínez, which soon sparked Liverpool into life. Within seven minutes Cody Gakpo had equalised, cutting in from the left to fire into the roof of the net. And when Mohamed Salah scored his 18th Premier League goal of the season – converting from the spot after Matthijs de Ligt had handled – United looked to be heading for another chastening defeat.

Rúben Amorim’s team, however, showed a character they have too often been missing this season to peg the home side back. Amad Diallo guided home a smart Alejandro Garnacho cutback, prompting a frantic final 17 minutes – including added time – in which both teams created chances they could not take to win the game.

How the managers saw it

“It was a difficult game,” said Arne Slot. “A bit similar to maybe the Nottingham Forest game [Liverpool’s only league defeat of the season], where the playing style of both teams was quite similar – defending in a low block with a lot of bodies and, if they had the ball, not the risk of build-up but play it long.”

“Today we were a different team,” said Amorim. “Not because of the system, not because of the technical aspect of the game, [or] the tactical aspect of the game; [today] we faced the competition in the way that we’re supposed to face every day – training and match.”

Attempting to break United’s block

Liverpool lined up in an initial 4-3-3 structure, with Luis Díaz as the central forward. In early attempts to break Manchester United’s defensive shape, the Colombian attacker dropped and connected play in midfield, often pulling De Ligt out from United’s back line. With at least one of Liverpool’s number eights widening, passes to Liverpool’s left side also drew over United’s pivots. From there, Liverpool progressed by switching play across to Curtis Jones or Trent Alexander-Arnold (below), finding central runs from deep to penetrate into the box.

It was Liverpool’s combinations on their left – including their number eights moving wide – that gave them their best spell in the first half. Well-timed rotations between Gakpo – who briefly rotated to play the central-forward role – and a widening Díaz helped to penetrate United’s back five, particularly around De Ligt. Gakpo came close to scoring, getting in after a good combination on the left (below). Moments later Salah received on the right and found Alexis Mac Allister – making a run from deep between United’s centre-backs – which drew a save from André Onana. 

United get in behind on the left

United also found that their best moments came on their left side. Utilising a 3-2-4-1 structure when attacking, they worked the ball wide and then played it back inwards, targeting Rasmus Højlund with direct forward passes. This was especially the case when Liverpool’s full-backs had jumped out to press. It was Bruno Fernandes widening to the left that gave United their best platform to attack, especially when Højlund couldn’t be found. Indeed, their first major moment came when Fernandes found Dalot in behind (below), to cross for Diallo, only for the Ivorian to mistime his header from close range.

United began to have more possession as the first half progressed, giving them a strong platform to work their left inside channel particularly well. Diallo’s movement inside to support their double pivot gave Fernandes licence to widen, especially when Dalot was deep and in position to defend Salah on transition. In the 40th minute, Fernandes received beyond Alexander-Arnold (below), but poor play inside Liverpool’s penalty area let the visitors down. Moments later, with another left-sided run beyond, Højlund received a ball in behind from Martínez for a 1v1 against Alisson. His shot was saved, but United ended the first half in the ascendency.

That pattern continued in the early stages of the second half. Left-sided centre-back Martínez gave United the lead, after a delicate Fernandes pass broke Liverpool’s last line in the penalty area. It came after more good work with the ball from United’s left side, but also after good pressing on the transition; United committed more players forward on this side, including Martínez. Despite Liverpool subsequently taking control and the lead, they continued to struggle to control United’s left-side combinations. Garnacho – added to United’s left as a 72nd-minute substitute for Kobbie Mainoo – duly provided the cutback for Diallo’s equaliser. 

Slot’s changes

After going behind and with United looking strong, Slot was preparing to make changes when Gakpo equalised. The goal came as United were caught out, still readjusting from defending a set-piece. Nonetheless, Liverpool’s head coach pressed ahead with his substitutions, bringing on Darwin Núñez for Díaz, and Diogo Jota for Curtis Jones. Slot’s change of shape to a 4-2-3-1 gave Liverpool a more potent central threat, as Gakpo narrowed towards the two substitutes, now up against United’s three centre-backs (below). Slot’s changes flipped the momentum; Liverpool dominated for a sustained spell in which it looked like they would secure three points.

Both full-backs joined the majority of Liverpool’s attacks, with Andy Robertson working around Gakpo’s varied movements. Alexander-Arnold, by contrast, found himself central for longer, as Salah mostly stayed wide on the right (below). When one of their full-backs stayed high after running forward, Liverpool had five players directly up against the visitors’ back line. And with the pressure building, Salah’s penalty put his team in front.

Slot’s tweaks certainly enhanced Liverpool’s attacking play, providing threats across the United back line. But the visitors did not buckle and came away with a share of the spoils, from another entertaining encounter between English football’s two most successful clubs.

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