Match report
Full-time: Liverpool 0-0 Manchester United
That was a wretched game of football and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. It was pure filth. Liverpool stay fourth, United stay seventh. Good night.
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90 min+2: Luke Shaw replaces Ashley Young, who takes his sweet time leaving the pitch.
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90 min+1: There will be one minute of added time. What was it Jose Mourinho said about 19th century football? Fellaini is booked for kicking the ball away, delaying a Liverpool free-kick.
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90 min: Ibrahimovic is booked for a foul on Can.
86 min: Liverpool make their final change, Alberto Moreno replacing the limping James Milner.
85 min: Divock Origi replaces Roberto Firmino. “I had a choice between a cystoscopy test and watching this match,” says Jerry Slaff. “Looks like I made the right choice. My results will be in tomorrow.”
84 min: Coutinho brilliantly carves open the United defence with a magical flick through to Firmino, who’s in goal and onside at last. Just when he looks certain to score, though, Valencia saves United with a magnificent recovery tackle.
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82 min: This has not been unlike Arsenal 0-0 Chelsea in December 2013.
81 min: United have a corner on the left. It’s the first of the evening. Fellaini heads wide from Blind’s cross.
77 min: Wayne Rooney replaces Marcus Rashford.
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76 min: Wayne Rooney will be on soon and he will score the winner.
74 min: Blind slips and Mane steams down the right. But Bailly mops up brilliantly.
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72 min: Milner and Rashford are down after a clash of heads.
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71 min: Coutinho livens things up, though, unleashing a drive from 25 yards that seems destined for the top corner. But De Gea springs to his left to make another fine save, tipping the ball over with his “wrong” hand.
70 min: You could hear a pin drop inside Anfield.
67 min: Pogba is down after picking up a knock in a collision with Milner.
65 min: All of a sudden, the ball is starting to come back at United. Could they do with getting the pace of Rooney on?
64 min: It’s only been a few minutes, but Liverpool look far more comfortable with Lallana on. Just you wait until they stick Steven Caulker up front.
62 min: Lallana links with Firmino, whose backheel sets him up for a shot that swerves well wide. “After your ringing endorsement of the first half, I’ve gone to the pub for the second,” says Matt Dony. “I can’t say I wasn’t warned, I guess.” At least you can drink.
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61 min: “Are you aware of any particular reason that Klopp doesn’t turn to Origi especially with Sturridge not a gegenpresser?” says Mike Mackenzie. “I’m in favour of peddling Sturridge come January despite his goal scoring talent.” He just wanted to change the system, didn’t he?
59 min: He’s done nothing all night, but now David de Gea has made an outstanding save to deny Emre Can. The Liverpool midfielder popped up in space in the Liverpool area after drifting off Fellaini. He dribbled inside and stabbed a low shot towards the bottom right corner, but De Gea got down smartly to push it away! That’s Liverpool’s best moment of the game. And the cue for Lallana to replace the ineffectual Sturridge.
57 min: Coutinho makes the most of a nothing challenge from Herrera to win a free-kick for Liverpool. Herrera is furious. Coutinho lightens the mood by making a dog’s dinner out of the free-kick.
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55 min: Adam Lallana has been sent down the touchline to warm up.
54 min: Manchester City v Barcelona will be better than this, won’t it? Guys? Hang on. Something happens here. Pogba beats his man with a slippery piece of skill and curls a cross towards Ibrahimovic from the right. Ibrahimovic mistimes his free header, though, sending it away from goal!
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52 min: Liverpool are still to get going. Will Klopp turn to Lallana? Sturridge isn’t in this game.
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49 min: This is almost a horror moment for Loris Karius, who knocks the ball straight to Pogba as Ibrahimovic closes him down, drawing anguished cries from the Liverpool fans. To the Liverpool goalkeeper’s immense fortune, Ibrahimovic is offside from Pogba’s pass. What a let-off.
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48 min: Coutinho wriggles clear for what feels like the first time in this match and finds Firmino on the left. His cross is hacked clear by Young.
46 min: Off we go again. Let’s hope for better in the second half. Liverpool get it underway. “My colleague Dan and I are following the game from New York and it’s bad enough that this game kicks off on a Monday at 3pm (prime internal meeting time) but we’re having to deal with the ‘bugger all’ happening, which makes following the livestream even more difficult,” says John Butler. “Could you make stories up about aliens are invading Anfield or Rooney’s been subbed on and he’s turned good again? Whatever you think most believable.”
Half-time: Liverpool 0-0 Manchester United
A half that did not exactly fly by.
45 min+1: There will be one minute of added time. Ashley Young has been booked for dissent as the United winger questions why Jordan Henderson wasn’t booked for a foul on Herrera.
44 min: A bored Anthony Taylor decides it’s Eric Bailly who will pick up the first booking of the night for an innocuous foul on Sturridge.
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43 min: There’s still absolutely bugger all going on here.
39 min: There is absolutely bugger all going on here.
37 min: Red Monday, you say?
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36 min: A long ball over the top finds Ibrahimovic. Liverpool’s defenders are nowhere to be seen. But he’s offside.
35 min: Milner’s corner is headed away by Ibrahimovic. “Given how good Manchester United have been at pressing Liverpool, are we witnessing the rise of the counter counter press?” says Oyvind Hofstad? “Or if you will the gegengegenpress?”
34 min: Mane teases Blind on the left, before feeding Clyne on the overlap. He wins a corner off Young, Liverpool’s first of the game.
33 min: Ibrahimovic turns a ball back into Pogba’s path. He very nearly breaks past Lovren and through on goal, but his touch is too heavy.
31 min: Milner lifts a free-kick into the United area. De Gea claims it easily.
29 min: Liverpool threaten for the first time, Henderson pinging a cross from right to left, Firmino heading straight at De Gea. He might have headed that back across goal to Sturridge.
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28 min: United’s willingness to look forward each time they have the ball is ensuring that Liverpool can’t exert the high press. “I fear Bruce Jackson is right,” says Christopher Barnes. “How did the bolognese turn out the other night? You must have finished the cooking at midnight.”
We delayed it until tomorrow night. Sorry to disappoint.
27 min: Clyne knocks a pass down the line and out for a United goal-kick. Mourinho has killed Liverpool’s buzz.
25 min: Rashford pops up on the right and drills an awkward low cross into the six-yard box. Karius does extremely well to push it away to safety.
24 min: We’ve seen nothing from Coutinho, Mane and Firmino yet, while Sturridge has barely had a sniff of the ball. “So far the Kop has had more touches than De Gea,” says Marie Meyer.
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23 min: At the end of a rare Liverpool sortie, Can blooters a wasteful shot harmlessly over the bar from 25 yards. He’s been poor. “Right, we’ve reached the end of the first 20 minutes,” says Bruce Jackson. “This is the point at which United’s intensity level drops, they start passing the ball around in midfield going nowhere, the opposition regroup, regain some confidence, and get a goal on the break. That’s been the past couple of seasons anyway. Can it be different this time?”
21 min: Blind swings in a cross from the left. It is incompetent.
19 min: None of Liverpool’s players can put a foot right. They’re making so many errors.
17 min: Valencia drives forward and finds Ibrahimovic. He rolls his foot over the ball and shoots powerfully from 20 yards. A deflection makes it a simple enough save for Karius. But this game is only heading in one direction at the moment and it’s not a good one for Liverpool.
15 min: United are winning all the second balls. Pogba and Ibrahimovic are showing signs of a good partnership. Pogba hooks a ball into Ibrahimovic, who lays it back to the Frenchman. His shot is blocked.
14 min: The game is being played in Liverpool’s half. This time, Pogba does have a go from long range. His shot sails miles over. But United have started impressively, Liverpool unconvincingly. How much do they miss Lallana and Wijnaldum?
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13 min: Liverpool are edgy.
12 min: Liverpool are struggling to get round the United press. Pogba picks up the ball in space and momentarily looks set for a shot from 20 yards. He’s tackled, though.
11 min: From Young’s free-kick, Fellaini is flagged offside, so that’s the end of that.
10 min: From a deep position, can drifts a diagonal ball over Valencia, looking for Sturridge. He can’t bring it down in the area and De Gea gathers. Moments later, Lovren illegally buffets Ibrahimovic on the left. There’s a nervous howl from the Liverpool fans every time United get a free-kick in a dangerous position.
9 min: The intensity settles down for a bit, allowing Liverpool to stroke the ball around in the middle for a while, probing, looking for an opening. But they’re not going anywhere. Getting through this United defence doesn’t look like it will be easy.
7 min: Now Liverpool get in on the pressing action, Coutinho and Firmino scurrying and combining to win the ball off Rashford. Firmino emerges with it and crosses towards Sturridge but Smalling heads clear.
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6 min: United have a free-kick in a central position, around 30 or 35 yards from goal. Pogba was fouled. It looks too far out for a shot. But Ibrahimovic is on the pitch and he fancies this. The Kop whistles. Ibrahimovic gets his revenge by blasting the ball into it, probably knocking someone out.
5 min: What little football we’ve seen so far has been played in Liverpool’s half. It’s United who are exerting the high press at the moment. How about that? How do you like that, Jurgen?
3 min: The Anfield pitch doesn’t feel quite so tight now we’ve got this new, high camera angle from the reconfigured main stand. What a disgrace. Whatever happened to tradition?
2 min: Marcus Rashford catches James Milner late on the left, drawing a huge, angry roar from the crowd. Anthony Taylor hands out a lecture. “Jose coming out early and sitting on his own in the dug-out reeks of ‘mind games’, a practice so old fashioned it’s like WM formations or 2-for-a-win,” says Niall Carey. “It’s almost quaint.”
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Off we go! Manchester United, wearing blue to remind Jose Mourinho of Chelsea, get the game underway. You know what Liverpool are wearing. It’s loud.
Here come the teams! Lots of hand slapping and back patting in the tunnel, but we’re not likely to see much of that over the course of the next 90 minutes. There’s a white hot atmosphere inside Anfield and this is bound to be tasty.
Jose Mourinho has emerged before the teams and taken his place in the away dugout, all on his own. What’s his game? What’s his angle?
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“I’m old(ish), a Hilsborough survivor and I know it’s not my job to do this but I’d like to offer a heartfelt and sincere apology for the Munich banner over the motorway,” says Tim Daw. “Most of us aren’t like that and it’s a terrible shame that some idiots felt it was a funny thing to do. I’m hoping for a good clean fight and no disgusting banter.”
A black cat has been scampering around the Anfield pitch. “The amount of confident predictions of a Liverpool masterclass in the lead up to this match mean that any right minded Liverpool supporter is gibbering in fear at the prospect of an absolute drubbing,” says Phil Sawyer. “And as for the thought of Karius and our comedy defence facing plenty of crosses put in the mixer for Ibrahimovic, Pogba and Fellaini... excuse me, I just need to go and change my underwear. Again.”
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Jurgen Klopp speaks. He’s sporting a tan, which is more interesting than anything he has to say: “I am really happy we are here and happy to be part of the game.
Then it’s Jose Mourinho’s turn: “When we have the ball, we want to score. When Liverpool have the ball, we want to defend.” Ashley Young is an “experienced” player.
“Either Jose missed the game last season or Martial’s injured,” says Paul Ewart. “Either way, Nathaniel Clyne will be relieved: Martial was the only play to give him the runaround (‘triffic) last season.”
Martial is injured.
With Daniel Sturridge starting tonight, and making his 100th appearance for Liverpool, allow me to plug my column on him from last week. “He’s dangerous,” says Ryan Giggs, who’s a pundit for Sky tonight. “But he’s not as defensively reliable as Firmino.”
For Liverpool, Adam Lallana is only fit enough for a place on the bench and the injury Gini Wijnaldum suffered on international duty keeps him out altogether. That means a change of system. Daniel Sturridge starts up front and he’s supported by that creative attacking trident. Emre Can is alongside Jordan Henderson in midfield.
As for Manchester United, the rumours about Ashley Young were correct. Jose Mourinho opts for his ability to muck in defensively over Juan Mata’s offensive capabilities, while Wayne Rooney is on the bench again. Young hasn’t started a league game since January. It looks like United might be set up to go long and test Liverpool in the air.
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The teams!
Liverpool: Karius; Clyne, Matip, Lovren, Milner; Henderson, Can; Coutinho, Firmino, Mane; Sturridge. Subs: Mignolet, Moreno, Klavan, Lucas, Grujic, Lallana, Origi.
Manchester United: De Gea; Valencia, Bailly, Smalling, Blind; Fellaini, Pogba; Young, Herrera, Rashford; Ibrahimovic. Subs: Romero, Shaw, Rojo, Carrick, Mata, Lingard, Rooney.
Referee: Anthony Taylor.
“Debate?” splutters David Flynn. “Can the entire world vs LVG, Big Sam and Paul Merson really be considered a debate?”
I’d pay to watch it.
“I never thought the day would come that the possibility of Lallana not playing would cause me to downgrade my expectations from thrashing to last gasp leveller,” says Ian Copestake. “Any news on that front?”
We’ll have team news in 12 minutes. Then the great Wayne Rooney debate resumes.
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Aren’t people pleasant?
'Munich 58' reads banner on the road into Liverpool
— Simon Peach (@SimonPeach) October 17, 2016
We have our first email of the evening. “Funsters indeed!” says Marie Meyer. “A victory by four goals would put Liverpool top of the table; and if they are all scored by James Milner he will be top scorer in the Premier League. Now, I certainly don’t want to put any undo pressure on Anthony Taylor, because I understand we are frowning on that these days, but come on man - point to the spot, early and often!”
The early word from Anfield is that Ashley Young starts for Manchester United. Plus 10 other players, of course. But Ashley Young is the headline news. What plan is Jose Mourinho cooking up here?
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Preamble
Hello. Just look at Liverpool go! Just look at those freewheeling funsters zooming about the place, scoring goals with gleeful abandon, entertaining their supporters every single week, raising hopes that this, this could be their year. They’ve walloped Arsenal, they’ve won at Chelsea, they’ve gone toe to toe with Tottenham. The big teams hold no fears for them any more, not with Jurgen Klopp hopping around and barking like a maniac on the touchline. Now they’re set to give Manchester United the treatment. The narrative is set!
Or is it? Because in each of the last two seasons, Liverpool have come into this fixture riding a wave of optimism, only to flounder in the face of United’s superior big-game professionalism. In 2015, their hopes of overtaking United in the race for fourth were undone by Juan Mata’s double and Steven Gerrard’s comedy red card. In January of this year, meanwhile, they made most of the running but paid of a lack of cutting edge, with David de Gea superb in goal for United and the lethal Wayne Rooney snatching the points with a late winner.
So while United have stuttered at times this season, suffering three defeats on the bounce in September before drawing with Stoke City two weeks ago, you’d be monumentally thick to write them off. After all, look who’s managing them. Liverpool fans do not have fond memories of the last time Jose Mournho turned up at Anfield, They still talk about that one. It still haunts them. Liverpool 0-2 Chelsea, Steve Gerrard, Gerrard, he slipped on his fahkin’ arse and gave it to Demba Ba. Just as well he’s off in LA really. Still, though, if you hear a beeping noise tonight, it might be a bus reversing in front of United’s goal.
That’s another narrative ticked off. Another one might be that United have a host of top players who absolutely demolished Leicester City at Old Trafford three weeks ago. Then again, the champions are a total shambles these days, and good on them, they never need to do anything again. All in all, it’s clear that I’m rambling now. No one’s quite sure what to expect. It could be that the home side’s all-action front three of Coutinho, Mane and Firmino overwhelms United’s defence with their relentless movement and Klopp gets the better of Mourinho again, as he has done with both Borussia Dortmund and Liverpool. But what if Pogba, Ibrahimovic and Rooney Rashford turn on the style? Or we sit through a goalless stinker after all this build-up? Whatever happens, only one thing is certain. There will be hype.
Kick-off: 8pm BST.
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