Published On: Sun, Apr 7th, 2024

Klopp unleashes Liverpool rage in Man Utd draw as Mainoo shines again | Football | Sport


Jurgen Klopp Kobbie Mainoo

Jurgen Klopp was furious when Liverpool trailed 2-1 to Man Utd due to Kobbie Mainoo’s goal (Image: GETTY)

Liverpool’s ambitions of winning the Premier League title were dealt a blow by Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday. The Reds needed to win to stay top of the league but wasted a succession of goalscoring chances at 1-0 up before Bruno Fernandes and Kobbie Mainoo turned the game on its head with sublime goals. Mohamed Salah scored from the penalty spot late on to rescue a 2-2 draw but it was a match Liverpool will feel they should’ve won, although United too were in a great position to secure all three points. Express Sport analyses the main talking points from a crazy match…

Liverpool left frustrated again at Old Trafford

United didn’t have a single shot on goal in the first half. It was the first time since October 2015 that they failed to register a single attempt in the opening 45 minutes of a league match at Old Trafford.

The expected goals (xG) at half-time was 0.00 vs 1.59 per Sky Sports. The away team were in complete control and the atmosphere was flat. Then, pouncing on Jarell Quansah’s slack pass, Bruno Fernandes lobbed Caoimhin Kelleher from a full 45 yards with United’s very first shot.

Suddenly Old Trafford was an entirely different place. Then with only the hosts’ fifth shot of the game on 67 minutes, Mainoo turned and curled a stunner into the far top corner to make it 2-1. The stadium’s very foundations rocked.

Liverpool recovered with yet another late goal to earn a draw but still this was a match they could and should have won. Similarly to their FA Cup quarter-final loss at the same venue three weeks ago, they had so much possession and so many chances but failed to clinch their desired result. How costly could that prove to be come May 19th?

Manchester United v Liverpool FC - Premier League

Liverpool wasted multiple opportunities to score more goals away at Man Utd (Image: GETTY)

Jurgen Klopp makes his anger felt 

Jurgen Klopp was fuming at his Liverpool team in the second half. Sky Sports cameras spotted him unleashing on his players from the touchline shortly after Mainoo had made it 2-1 with a beautiful goal.

Could you blame him? The visitors had so much space to attack and so many goalscoring opportunities in the first 45. But they didn’t take them – and they were made to pay.

He explained post-match: “I’m not angry with the boys or whatever but in the game I cannot just let things like this happen. We are too deep, there is just one player between the lines and one player is too deep, I’m not sure which player.

“If I were a player, I wouldn’t be happy with my manager shouting like that on the pitch, which is absolutely fine. It is things you see in the moment between defending and midfield.”

Thankfully for Klopp and his players, Aaron Wan-Bissaka brought down Harvey Elliott late on and Salah was able to convert from the spot. That probably saved them from another earful in the dressing room after the full-time whistle.

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Jurgen Klopp was furious with his Liverpool players in the second half (Image: GETTY)

Same old United concerns

It is the same problem again, and again, and again for the Red Devils. Having conceded 31 shots against Brentford and 28 against Chelsea, here United had conceded 15 by half-time alone. It was 28 by full-time.

Ultimately, because of the fact they earned a credible draw against a title-challenging team, United’s porousness was overshadowed. But that is only because of the profligacy of Liverpool. Had they taken their chances, this could have been a very different result.

Until Fernandes’ superb equaliser, United were miles from the standards needed to win these types of games. They of course deserve some credit for the fact they managed to rediscover their fight and stop Liverpool from winning.

But there are still so many questions about this team under Erik ten Hag. Why are they so open? What is the tactical plan? Why can they not show this stomach and fight in every other match? They are all questions INEOS will be asking.

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Mainoo stands tall yet again

While United have struggled on the whole this season, Mainoo’s emergence has been a massive positive. The 18-year-old academy graduate was making just his 22nd first-team appearance against Liverpool.

And with his terrific goal to put United 2-1 up, his first for the club at Old Trafford, here was another moment in the teenager’s growing highlights reel. His post-match interview, in which he declared himself disappointed because the Red Devils did not win the game, said absolutely everything about him.

In Mainoo, United have a player headed for the very top. He has both the mentality and the quality to be a huge part of this team – no matter who is the manager – over the next decade.

Manchester United v Liverpool FC - Premier League

Kobbie Mainoo’s first Old Trafford goal was a beauty (Image: GETTY)

Changes at the top of the table

Liverpool came into this match one point behind Arsenal, after their 3-0 demolition of Brighton last night, and level with Manchester City who came from behind to beat Crystal Palace 4-2 yesterday. 

A win would have moved them back two points ahead of Arsenal and three above City. Instead, a draw means they give up top sot. They sit on 71 points – the same as the Gunners – but with a far inferior goal difference.

The north Londoners’ GD is +51 while Liverpool’s is +42. The Reds have conceded six goals more than their rivals, who are in unbelievable form in 2024. They haven’t trailed for a single minute in any of their 11 Premier League games so far this calendar year.

Fans ignore Ten Hag plea

Pre-match, United manager Ten Hag had implored the home supporters not to chant about historical tragedies. Unfortunately, though, he was ignored.

Chants of ‘Always the victims’ were audible once again from the Stretford End in the 28th minute even though Sky Sports tried to turn down the volume. The ‘Murderers’ chants could then be heard after Fernandes’ goal in the second half.

The FA said after the FA Cup quarter-final last month: “We are determined to stamp this behaviour out. It is entirely unacceptable and can have a lasting and damaging impact on people and communities within our game. It must stop, and we support any club and their fans who try to eradicate this from the terraces.”

Sadly there is still more work to be done.



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