By. Zambwe mwandele
For 78
minutes it was not the icy temperatures that chilled Michael Carrick, Phil
Jones and the rest of Manchester United’s travelling support at Liverpool but a
soul-sapping lack of adventure from the team
they had paid
to see. One swipe of Wayne Rooney’s right foot altered everything
and for 25 minutes after the final whistle they reveled in the truism that only
the result matters when the Premier League’s fallen heavyweights collide. The
grim, occasionally gleeful, reality of life under Louis van Gaal was laid bare.
Four
times Van Gaal has faced
Liverpool as
United manager and four times he has emerged victorious. Each has had a
profound effect on Liverpool’s Champions League aspirations, with wins number
two and three damaging Brendan Rodgers’ job prospects in the process, and the
latest may prove no exception, with Jürgen Klopp’s team eight points adrift of
fourth place. The implications for Van Gaal’s future remain to be seen.
Klopp
appeared visibly deflated as he discussed another display of promise, missed
chances and set-piece vulnerability afterwards. Van Gaal was emboldened as he
talked up United’s title prospects on the back of a second league win
since 21 November. The intoxicating effects of
a United win at Anfield clearly remain, even if the reverberations no longer
make an impact on the Premier League summit.
The
United manager also described David de Gea’s influential performance as mere
routine and he had a point – the Spanish goalkeeper twice saved impressively
from Emre Can but was hardly besieged – yet the approach, and the quality on
display, was modest in the extreme. Far from a collision between the best the
Premier
League has to offer, this underlined why two wealthy clubs
began the day sixth and ninth in the table.
Rooney settled the contest as he reacted
sharply to a header from Marouane Fellaini, his fellow
ex-Evertonian, that rebounded off the crossbar. It was Rooney’s first league
goal at Anfield in 11 years and a moment for the United captain, his manager
and club to savour. They were on the back foot for much of the game, their
timidity in the first half was as bad as their touch on the ball, but they were
able to punish Liverpool’s weaknesses in defence and in front of goal.
“We
need to improve but today was enough to beat Liverpool away,” said Van Gaal.
The armoury at the managers’ disposal – the converted Roberto Firmino leading a
Liverpool starting XI with only six league goals to their collective credit
this season – was also telling.
Liverpool
spent the opening 10 minutes encamped inside their own half as United
controlled possession but initial impressions proved misleading.
Klopp’s
side almost punished United when Jordan Henderson and James Milner combined to
dispossess Morgan Schneiderlin, and Adam Lallana was put clean through by Lucas
Leiva’s long ball over the top. Lallana opted for a first-time header, saved
almost on the 18-yard line by De Gea, and although the rebound broke kindly for
Firmino, he was unable to reproduce the accuracy he had
against
Arsenal and shot tamely wide.
Milner
almost profited from a first-time ball down Liverpool’s right channel, too,
driving Firmino’s pass wide from a tight angle, and Henderson shot over twice
from distance while also missing the best chance of the opening half.
In contrast
to United, the home side’s one-touch football improved considerably as the game
wore on and a slick exchange between Lucas, Henderson, Lallana and Firmino
released the captain inside the area. Henderson pulled his shot wide of De
Gea’s far post. Van Gaal’s side were measured but rarely threatened until
Rooney’s late breakthrough.
Not
even the chance to pressurise Simon Mignolet from a corner was taken, with
Daley Blind swinging a series of awful deliveries away from the Liverpool
goalkeeper. Ander Herrera’s sliced shot wide in the 30th minute represented
United’s first attempt on goal.
Not
even the chance to pressurise Simon Mignolet from a corner was taken, with
Daley Blind swinging a series of awful deliveries away from the Liverpool
goalkeeper. Ander Herrera’s sliced shot wide in the 30th minute represented
United’s first attempt on goal.
The
decision to play the left-winger Ashley Young at right-back was aborted shortly
before the break when he exited injured following an innocuous challenge on Milner.
Mercifully,
the second half was more open, enterprising and interesting, the latter the
least that should be expected when these clubs meet.
Greater
adventure from Can twice came close to giving Liverpool the lead. Moments after
the restart the German international took Lallana’s pass and burst beyond Chris
Smalling inside the area but his low, goal-bound shot was deflected wide by De
Gea. The United goalkeeper subsequently produced a superior save from Can’s
25-yard drive, clawing away Firmino’s return for good measure, and was relieved
when Henderson side-footed tamely into his arms, despite having a free shot
from the edge of the area. The missed chances, while not in the gilt-edged
category, proved costly.
Anthony
Martial went close with a low shot across the face of Mignolet’s goal but
United’s travelling contingent had been given no cause for optimism and jeered
Van Gaal’s decision to withdraw Herrera for Memphis Depay, before finding
themselves rejoicing in Rooney’s decisive 78th-minute strike.
Blind,
no doubt learning from earlier errors, played a short corner to Juan Mata and
his inviting cross was headed against the bar by Fellaini, towering above the
Liverpool centre-backs Mamadou Sakho and Kolo Touré. The ball bounced back to
the unmarked United captain, who lashed an unstoppable shot into the roof of
the net from close range.
It was
Rooney’s 176th league goal for United, the most a player has scored for a
single club in the Premier League era, and the seventh goal Liverpool have
conceded from a corner this season – more than any other side. Most
revealingly, it was the visitors’ first shot on target. Smash and grab seems a
fair description.
Man
of the match David de Gea (Manchester United)
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