And that’s all from me. It’s been, to be frank, a bit disappointing. Hopefully the Carabao Cup final will make up for it – follow it with Nick Ames, now, here:
Here’s Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s response. He says Lingard, Mata and Herrera all have hamstring injuries:
You’ve always got to be ready for everything, but losing three players in the first half with hamstring injuries, and probably we should have taken Marcus off as well. Henderson went through him in the first minute and that was just one of many fouls on him today. I was very concerned, but he’s a warrior and he’s a Manc, and he knows what this means. We had to keep him on, because we’d already used three subs.
You come out with so many positives today. The fans, they were the 11th man today because we had half a Marcus. I can’t remember David having to make a save. We kept them out of it and we created a couple of chances where we could have scored.
We’ve lost a few with muscle injuries, hamstrings. But we’ve got some good kids coming through. We’ll have 11 players on the pitch on Wednesday night as well.
Jürgen Klopp says he isn’t frustrated. However, he certainly sounds frustrated:
It was a strange game. We started really well, and then the injury crisis started as well. That obviously cost us rhythm. In the end we have to admit that United played with a completely new midfield, a pretty much new three up front, but we lost the rhythm and we couldn’t get it back. It was a game without a lot of highlights. It was intense of course, but for sure it’s for United a point they won and for us we lost two. When United is beatable you have to do it, and we didn’t do it. I’m not frustrated. I’ll always take what I get from the boys. It doesn’t feel world class at the moment but it’s OK, we have a point more.
We didn’t play a lot of wonderful football. It was not flexible enough. The build-up from deep was OK, but then of course you need to keep the ball in the right areas, you need to shoot, and we didn’t do these things often enough.
Look, form and confidence, in football you can work for it. Luck you can work for. Everything you can work for in football, but you really have to try. The attitude of the boys is not questioned, but keep cool, pass the ball around, go into the right areas. That could have happened more often, but obviously not today.
Here’s Jamie Jackson’s match report from Old Trafford:
“Why was an own goal subject to the offside rule?” wonders Devesh Sharma. It was the United player, who got onto the end of the free kick and turned the ball back across goal, who was offside. Anything after that was irrelevant.
Here’s James Milner’s hot take:
I’d say a clean sheet is pleasing, it’s not an easy place to come. We made all the running, didn’t create as many chances as we’d have liked. We go into every game to win, but hopefully it’s a good point at the end of the season. We’ll only know after 38 games.
I don’t think we were good enough with our movement. Around the box we couldn’t open them up as often as we’d like. They’re a confident team at the moment and they’re well organised, but with the players we’ve got we’d have liked to have created more opportunities.
We want to win every game, no matter who it’s against, and we know we can. So when you come off and you haven’t won it’s always disappointing. We’ve got to look where we can improve when we’ve got the ball and teams are sat back. That’s something we have to adapt to and work out how to break down.
United impressed again, though. As the injuries piled up in the first half, with Liverpool dominating possession, their motivation could also have been damaged. Instead it never wavered, and they were defensively resolute throughout. Luke Shaw was named man of the match, after popping Mo Salah into his pocket and keeping him there.
“It seems Klopp made the decision to attack Shaw’s flank the entire day and failed to adapt to the fact that the United left back can actually play a bit,” surmises Johnathan Kaszynski.
So Liverpool return to the top of the table, but that was a really poor performance. United defended well, but were rarely stretched. Watford visit Anfield on Wednesday, and the search for a momentum-building, confidence-boosting display of thrilling attacking brio from the title-chasers will have to wait until then. Or later.
Final score: Manchester United 0-0 Liverpool
90+2 mins: The match ends with Liverpool passing the ball around the halfway line before finally, desperately, tossing it into the area. United head clear, and the final whistle blows!
Updated
90+1 mins: There will be just two minutes of stoppage time.
90+1 mins: Lukaku’s left-footed cross from the right flies across the area and Smalling, at the far post, doesn’t throw himself at the ball when he might have turned it in. Goal kick.
90 mins: Liverpool win another free kick, but Milner’s delivery is headed clear. United break but Wijnaldum fouls Young just beyond the half-way line, and is booked.
88 mins: Robertson’s cross looks vaguely dangerous, but the only way Sturridge feels he can get to it is by shoving a defender, and United have a free kick.
87 mins: Shaqiri, who could perhaps have created something, has spent almost all his time wide on the right and not got anywhere near goal.
85 mins: Liverpool have had no brightness and invention around the penalty area. Their front three have been either injured or rubbish, and Mané’s attempt to play in Robertson ends in a goal kick.
83 mins: Shaqiri deliberately brings down Rashford as United try to counter, and accepts a booking in return.
Updated
82 mins: This half United’s set-piece delivery has been excellent, but their forwards repeatedly offside. Liverpool’s set-piece delivery has been poor, and this one is easily cleared.
81 mins: Young is booked for tripping Milner on the right flank. Liverpool’s only shot on target all game was Sturridge’s hopeless 40-yarder in the 33rd minute.
79 mins: Liverpool make their final substitution, bringing on Origi and taking off Salah, who has done pretty much nothing all game.
79 mins: Liverpool still don’t really have an attacking strategy beyond getting the ball to their full-backs and hoping their crosses lead to something. Robertson’s cross leads to a corner.
75 mins: United have the ball in the net, but it’s disallowed for offside! Again it’s from a free kick, which Shaw lifts into the area. It’s send back across goal and turned into his own net by Matip, but the flag is up!
73 mins: Liverpool go 4-2-3-1, with Salah up front just ahead of Sturridge, and Mané and Shaqiri on the flanks.
72 mins: Liverpool make their second change, bringing Shaqiri on for Henderson.
71 mins: The second corner finds Matip, who was being pulled by McTominay and heads over. He wasn’t being pulled very hard, and should probably have just committed to the header rather than thinking about potential penalties.
Updated
70 mins: Chance for Liverpool! Milner wins, and takes, a corner, which arrows towards Wijnaldum. But he misses his header, and the ball bounces off McTominay and out of play.
68 mins: The atmosphere is incredible, the tempo is remarkable, but the quality just isn’t there at the moment.
66 mins: A shot! It’s a terrible one, Wijnaldum blasting over from the edge of the area, but a shot all the same.
Updated
65 mins: Liverpool control the ball for a while, but when Henderson tries to lift it into United’s area it’s immediately smashed clear. “There was better possession football in Cardiff yesterday,” sniffs Paul Fitzgerald.
63 mins: Henderson hits the ball long towards Mané, and Smalling easily wins the header and turns it back to De Gea. Their over-use of long balls is not helping them.
61 mins: United have upped the pace in this half, and have had the better of the play. Liverpool have not put together a passing move of any length or purpose. Another one comes to an early end with Mané misplacing a pass to McTominay.
57 mins: United get numbers forward, and Lukaku has four people to aim for with his cross from the right, but it doesn’t quite drop for any of them, and Rashford eventually shoots wide from an unlikely angle.
Updated
56 mins: United play the ball over the top for Rashford, but his first touch is poor and Alisson gathers.
55 mins: The atmosphere seems to have increased in intensity since the interval, while United – albeit entirely from set pieces – have been more dangerous. It smells like there’s a goal coming.
54 mins: It’s half-cleared to Salah, who heads down to Van Dijk, who volleys back into the mixer. Young wins it there, despite Matip kicking at him from behind, and United get a free kick.
53 mins: Liverpool finally find some space in attack, Henderson running down the right, but his low cross is cut out. Corner.
53 mins: Another United free kick and another free header. This time Sánchez gets his head to the ball, but he too is offside. Still, a double warning for Liverpool.
51 mins: Fabinho trips McTominay and from the free kick Young lifts the ball into the area and Pogba runs free but heads at Alisson, and is anyway offside.
Updated
49 mins: “This feels like a Shaqiri kind of game; someone to do something unexpected for Liverpool,” suggests Hubert O’Hearn, and if Liverpool do have someone who is going to unlock United, he doesn’t seem to be on the pitch. “It won’t do Sturridge’s remaining confidence any favours, but I think he’s the one to go. Hope no more injuries or they’ll be setting up M*A*S*H tents on the touchline.”
48 mins: United have everyone in defence. Van Dijk plays the ball right to Matip, who plays the ball back to Van Dijk, who – with everyone in front of him covered by a red shirt – goes back to his goalkeeper.
47 mins: Matip very nearly gives the ball away to Sánchez on the halfway line, but just about recovers.
46 mins: Mané tries to backheel Salah into space in the United penalty area, but the ball is cut out.
46 mins: They’re off!
The players retake the field. All appear to be able to walk.
Half time: Manchester United 0-0 Liverpool
45+5 mins: And that’s it, for now. Both teams head for the dressing-rooms to lick their wounds. “More Red Cross than Red Devils,” says Martin Tyler of the first half. “You know what they say,” writes JR. “Football is a simple game where 22 men run around chasing a ball and at the end of the game there are 14 men left chasing the ball. This is farcical.”
45+4 mins: There have been three shots on target in the first half, and four substitutions.
45+1 mins: Into stoppage time. There’s been about four minutes of it, the referee decides.
Updated
45 mins: Sánchez crosses from the left but Robertson puts his body in the way of Lukaku’s run and the Belgian’s header is easily saved. Lukaku then lands on top of Robertson’s left shoulder, and the physios are back on.
Updated
44 mins: Liverpool win a corner, which Matip heads over. The injuries have stopped either team developing a rhythm in this first half, but there will certainly be fewer in the second period, so that’s something.
42 mins: Lingard is limping to the touchline, and Alexis Sánchez is replacing him.
42 mins: Lingard has gone down now, and looks in real pain.
40 mins: What a stop from Alisson! Pogba runs down the left and then passes across the area, 25 yards from goal, to Lukaku. The Belgian picks out Lingard’s run into the box with a fantastic pass, but Alisson comes out to palm the ball away as the United player tries to push it around him.
39 mins: Matip makes another run into the penalty area from open play, and gets his head to the ball once he’s in there. He nods it out towards Milner, who lets it cross the line before he volleys in a cross.
Updated
37 mins: Pogba curls a shot towards the far corner from the left side of the penalty area, but Van Dijk heads it away from goal, and then does the same from the resulting corner.
Updated
36 mins: Milner is in so much space so often it’s almost as if United have made a deliberate decision to let him roam the right flank, hoping that Liverpool will take that easy option instead of giving the ball to their more dangerous players in more constricted areas. If that is their tactic, it’s working pretty well.
33 mins: Liverpool have had 62% of the first-half possession, but have not really tested De Gea. Rashford meanwhile appears to have run off his early knock, and is currently fastened to the left touchline.
33 mins: Sturridge has a shot from at least 40 yards, which trundles along the ground straight to De Gea.
31 mins: Another Milner cross goes nowhere, and the ball is cleared for a throw-in. Roberto Firmino, who is shown landing awkwardly on his ankle as he heads for the touchline, is replaced by Daniel Sturridge. Liverpool need to turn their domination into goals, or at least chances.
28 mins: It looks like another substitution is about to take place, and this time it’s Firmino who seems to be on his way off. Sturridge appears to be Jürgen Klopp’s pick to replace him.
27 mins: Milner’s crossing has been dismal so far, and he sends another effort looping straight out of play.
25 mins: Lingard comes on for Mata. Salah will be wondering how he failed to beat an injured Mata when Liverpool broke a couple of minutes ago, with only the Spaniard between him and goal.
24 mins: Mata is limping now, and Lingard is getting ready to come on. This is remarkable. Liverpool have the physios on the pitch at the moment, Firmino apparently unhappy.
Updated
23 min: The corner is cleared and Liverpool counter, but Salah is dispossessed by Mata on the edge of the area and Milner is then booked for stopping United’s counter-counter by tripping Pogba.
22 mins: United attack, with Rashford doing well to keep the ball on the left and play it back to Pogba, whose cross is tailored for Lukaku but headed away by Van Dijk. Corner.
21 mins: Liverpool have looked by a margin the more threatening team in this opening period, and United’s players appear to be falling apart. They win a corner, but Van Dijk’s header loops harmlessly to De Gea.
Updated
21 mins: Herrera is off, and Pereira on.
20 mins: While Herrera receives treatment Rashford goes towards the bench for a drink. Solskjaer comes out to ask if he needs to come off. The answer isn’t clear, but it looked like a shake of the head.
19 mins: Now it looks like United have two injuries, with Herrera on the ground and rubbing his right hamstring.
Updated
18 mins: Marcus Rashford is still limping. It now looks like Andreas Pereira might replace him.
17 mins: Liverpool work the ball well down the left, and Robertson’s low cross from the byline would have given anyone at the far post a tap-in. There’s nobody at the far post.
17 mins: It’s 2-0 at the Emirates, where Mkhitaryan has doubled Arsenal’s lead over Southampton.
16 mins: Salah’s free kick is pretty dreadful, and floats way over the bar.
Updated
15 mins: Matip rips through the heart of the United midfield and is taken out by Herrera just before he gets into the penalty area. This is a superb shooting chance, from a metre outside the box.
14 mins: Rashford is limping, and Lingard is warming up.
12 mins: Liverpool have been repeatedly pinging long balls crossfield to Milner on the right. Nothing much has come of it yet, but it’s definitely a thing.
11 mins: United give the ball away in defence but Liverpool’s attack seemed slightly half-hearted, and ended with a weak pull-back by Mané.
10 mins: Liverpool attack down the right but get boxed into a narrow strip of pitch near the corner flag and eventually misplace a pass. United throw-in.
8 mins: There’s already been a goal at Arsenal, where Lacazette has but the Gunners 1-0 up against Southampton. “I se that we are being denied MBMery on the crunch Southampton v Arsenal no-pointer,” notes Charles Antaki. “Shame, as I was looking forward to more chat about the perennial favourites of Why No Ozil? Is Koscielny Crocked Again? When Will Arsenal Actually Beat Anyone Half-Decent? And, for balance, Where Did It All Go Wrong For Oriol Romeu? But perhaps it’s better to sit back and hear about the latest debâcle in audio only.”
7 mins: At the other end Salah’s lovely jinking, twisting run into the United penalty area ends with his hard, low cross hitting a defender’s leg and, the sting having been taken from it, rolling to De Gea.
Updated
7 mins: Rashford, picked out by Young’s lovely early pass, falls over while shooting from the edge of the area, and the ball loops to Alisson.
6 mins: Salah spins and sets off on a foot race against Luke Shaw, which the United left-back narrowly wins.
Updated
5 mins: Liverpool play the ball around for a bit, before eventually getting it to Salah, 10 yards outside the area. He has two defenders upon him before the ball is under control, and is swiftly dispossessed.
2 mins: Henderson taps it to Fabinho, who rolls it to Milner, all of which tippy-tapping gives the United defence a chance to rush forward and block the shot when it comes.
1 min: Nearly a chance for Liverpool! Robertson plays the ball down the line and Ashley Young, under no pressure, rolls the ball back towards De Gea – but it looks like Firmino will get there first! He pulls out of the challenge, strangely, and De Gea gets a hand to it – indirect free kick!
1 min: They’re off! Juan Mata taps the ball backwards, and we’re under way.
Updated
Preambles over, it’s time for action. United will kick off, any moment now.
Updated
Before the game, a minute’s applause for the former Manchester United youth coach, Eric Harrison. Here’s his side in FA Youth Cup-winning action:
And out they come!
Happily Liverpool are leaving their cramped dressing room now, as the players gather in the tunnel.
Dressing-room latest. It looks a bit cramped in here:
Some manager chat. First Solskjaer on Matic’s absence, and the decision to bring in mcTominay to replace him:
It’s a big blow. he’s had a muscle injury so he’ll be out for a few weeks. One of these things that happen during a season. We’ll just have to manage without. Nemanja with his experience and his performances has been vital for us in midfield, but Scott has played these games before, he’s got bags of energy and he’s a local boy who knows these games.
How, he’s asked, can United win this game?
Quality in what we’re doing. Concentration. And control the emotions on the pitch.
Then Jürgen Klopp is asked why Trent Alexander-Arnold is not playing. He says it is with future games in mind, which I’m far from convinced by:
We have games coming up. I don’t like thinking about the games coming up but it’s the first moment we could make the decision. We will need Trent vrey much in the next few weeks. So all good. That’s the reason. Of course not because of last year. Absolutely no reason.
Then he’s asked if his team’s first job will be to quieten the home crowd:
I don’t think about quietening the crowd. We want to have a result here. That’s the plan. If you get a result you have to perform and if you perform the crowd is not the loudest. We don’t think about atmosphere. We are used to big atmospheres of course. We’ve played big games. We just want to work for a result. We want to deserve a result. And if we deserve it then we’ll take it.
Pre-match reading: here’s a bit from Barney Ronay on Marcus Rashford:
“Being a cowardly Liverpool fan I have volunteered to take my daughter out rather than watch the game (it’s lovely here in Berlin too),” writes Tim Woods. “Klopp and others are of course correct that today’s result won’t decide the title, but I do feel Liverpool have been lacking a big statement win/performance this season. The result at Spurs was good (and no I don’t count beating Arsenal at home). A win today, whether deserved, hard-fought or lucky, could be the thing to kick-start a return to form for the last 11 games. Hopefully.”
Updated
There’s another 2.05pm Premier League kick-off. Here are the teams from Arsenal v Southampton:
Arsenal: Leno, Lichtsteiner, Mustafi, Papastathopoulos, Kolasinac, Torreira, Xhaka, Iwobi, Ramsey, Mkhitaryan, Lacazette. Subs: Cech, Koscielny, Ozil, Aubameyang, Monreal,
Suarez, Guendouzi.
Southampton: Gunn, Bednarek, Vestergaard, Stephens, Valery, Hojbjerg, Romeu, Ward-Prowse, Targett, Armstrong, Redmond. Subs: McCarthy, Yoshida, Austin, Elyounoussi, Bertrand, Slattery,
Obafemi.
Referee: Graham Scott.
An update on Matic’s injury: Solskjaer has told MUTV that he will be out for a couple of weeks, after an injury sustained in training. United play five times in the next 15 days, with fixtures after today against Crystal Palace (a), Southampton (h), Paris St-Germain (a) and Arsenal (a).
Updated
And here’s a bit of Solskjaer on United:
Here’s a bit of Jürgen Klopp on Ole Gunnar Solskjaer:
The big news for Liverpool: Trent Alexander-Arnold, who struggled at Old Trafford last season, is left on the bench with James Milner preferred at right-back. Fabinho, Wijnaldum and Henderson start together in midfield for the first time.
Updated
The big news for United: Nemanja Matic has a muscle injury, and Scott McTominay comes in to make his third league start of the season. Jesse Lingard is back from injury to take a place on the bench, but Anthony Martial is out.
The teams
Team news is in, and this is it:
Man Utd: De Gea, Young, Smalling, Lindelof, Shaw, Ander Herrera, McTominay, Pogba, Mata, Lukaku, Rashford. Subs: Bailly, Sanchez, Lingard, Andreas Pereira, Fred, Dalot, Romero.
Liverpool: Alisson, Milner, Matip, van Dijk, Robertson, Henderson, Fabinho, Wijnaldum, Salah, Firmino, Mane. Subs:
Keita, Sturridge, Lallana, Mignolet, Shaqiri, Origi, Alexander-Arnold.
Referee: Michael Oliver.
It is just the most glorious day in Manchester, and much of the country. Team news imminent.
Something to note for later:
Prior to kick-off in today's game, there will be a minute's applause in remembrance of the late Eric Harrison. pic.twitter.com/j0rGv0Fjul
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) February 24, 2019
Hello world!
The Big One. It is not often that a domestic cup final can rationally be considered the second most interesting game of the day but while Manchester City are distracted by the Carabao Cup final against Chelsea, their title rivals have the chance to vault above them, perhaps permanently. Defeat for Liverpool at Old Trafford obviously would not be fatal, but victory this afternoon would be a significant stride towards glory. After this all of Liverpool’s away games are against sides currently in the bottom half of the table, and besides next Sunday’s Merseyside derby at Goodison Park, all of them are against teams currently in the bottom six. At home, meanwhile, they are unbeaten all season.
United though are unbeaten in the league since their visit to Anfield in December, for what turned out to be José Mourinho’s final match in charge. United have taken 25 points from their nine league games since then, five more than Liverpool and four more than City and Tottenham, who have both played a game more. Since that day they Liverpool have won two of four league away games, scoring only five times (United have scored 12 from five away matches), and looked generally unconvincing.
In short, United have to be the favourites to win this match, and to land a painful blow upon their great rivals. Liverpool haven’t won at Old Trafford since 2014, but will feel they need to get something from this trip. It is all tremendously exciting, a match to savour. Thanks for being here. Let’s do this.
