After victories for Arsenal and Aston Villa, Manchester United held the Premier League title contenders to a 0-0 draw on Sunday, ending Liverpool’s undefeated record at Anfield.
Jurgen Klopp’s team entered the game as strong favourites to cause their fierce rivals even more suffering, having won 11 of their previous 11 games played at home this season across all competitions.
Liverpool dominated, controlling almost 70 percent of the play and 34 shots to United’s six, but they were unable to overcome their resolute opponents.
After Arsenal defeated Brighton 2-0 earlier in the day, Klopp’s team ends the day one point behind the Gunners in the standings with 39 points.
Erik ten Hag, the manager of United, saw a moral triumph because his squad entered the game having lost 12 of its 24 games this season and had been destroyed 7-0 at Anfield the previous season.
Bruno Fernandes, United’s suspended captain, was absent, while Marcus Rashford, who has been struggling, was once again benched.
But with a humiliating home loss to Bournemouth last week and a mild Champions League departure midweek, they dug deep and ended their losing streak.
Virgil van Dijk’s header from close range was stopped by United goalie Andre Onana in the first half, and the visitors had a chance to win the match when Rasmus Hojlund’s effort was stopped by Liverpool keeper Alisson Becker at the near post.
The Liverpool team, according to Van Dijk, was disappointed with the outcome since they thought they were “superior in all aspects.”
He said to Sky Sports, “If you look at how we played the game, we had most of the ball and created some opportunities.” “Just one team was attempting to win the match.
Naturally, we want to win every game, which is why it irritates us. We occasionally shot too easily and had the opportunity to pass on the overlap. Sometimes the right choice was not made.
United’s captain, Scott McTominay, expressed his team’s disappointment with the lack of chances they created.
He continued, “We had times in the game where we had chances and could have hurt them. We had to stay calm and stick together.”
Arsenal, who finished second to Manchester City in the previous campaign, led at the Emirates and wasted several opportunities before breaking through in the 53rd minute. Mikel Arteta’s team dominated the game.
Jan Paul van Hecke, a defender for Brighton, leaped to head a corner away, but he was only able to flip it into Gabriel Jesus’s path, who headed the ball into an empty net.
In the last moments, Kai Havertz gave the Gunners a double; he was found by Eddie Nketiah and slotted past custodian Bart Verbruggen.
Arteta called the performance “incredible” to the BBC. “A pleasure to watch from beginning to end. The manner in which we defeated this excellent team.
“The scoreline didn’t reflect that even at halftime. We deserved to win the game hands down.
Just before halftime, a strike by Keane Lewis-Potter gave Unai Emery’s Villa the lead across London.
But Ben Mee of Brentford was sent off in the 71st minute, and Alex Moreno’s header from a Leon Bailey cross six minutes later levelled the score for Villa.
With five minutes remaining, Ollie Watkins made it 2-1 by heading in a Boubacar Kamara flick-on from a corner to complete the comeback against his old team.
Kamara was dismissed for belligerent behaviour in the last moments.
At the London Stadium, Mohammed Kudus produced two goals and Lucas Paqueta provided all three assists as West Ham defeated Wolves 3-0.
Before leaving for Saudi Arabia to compete in the Club World Cup, Manchester City surrendered a 2-0 lead to draw 2-2 with Roy Hodgson’s Crystal Palace on Saturday.
The terrible occurrence at Bournemouth, where Luton captain Tom Lockyer went into cardiac arrest and the game had to be abandoned on Saturday, overshadowed the Premier League action this past weekend.
Before Lockyer was transferred to the hospital, Luton verified that he was responsive and in a “stable” state. The club said on Sunday that he was getting scans and testing.
AFP
