Liverpool 0-0 Manchester United: Highlights and recap

Liverpool and Manchester United drew 0-0 in the Premier League on Saturday, Oct. 14. Here are all the highlights from the match at Anfield.

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Jose Mourinho, no stranger to defensive performances in big games, played spoiler again on Saturday, as his Manchester United side shut out a vastly more ambitious Liverpool.

But that’s the Mourinho way, tried and tested, and United can be pleased with a point at Anfield, even if the match failed to excite in the way this contest so often has in the past.

The game began as it would go on, with Liverpool dominating possession but struggling to break down United’s low block.

The Reds’ only clear-cut chance of the first half came in the 34th minute, when Joel Matip forced David de Gea into a stunning save with his foot following a Reds corner.

United almost snatched the lead through Romelu Lukaku in the 43rd minute, but his shot was straight at Simon Mignolet.

The second half was an even more exaggerated version of the first, with Liverpool stepping up the intensity of their pressing game and United seemingly even happier to settle for a point.

The best chance of the match fell to Emre Can in the 56th minute, but the German couldn’t hit the target when Joe Gomez found him unmarked in the middle of the box.

That was about as good as it got for the hosts for the remainder of the game, though they had a penalty shout turned down around the hour mark and later brought on Daniel Sturridge, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Dominic Soalanke to try and force an opening.

This won’t go down as one of the many classic Liverpool-United encounters, but then that’s exactly what Mourinho intended. For all the criticism he receives, the United manager
understands the value of not losing these sorts of matches, and while his side weren’t as solid defensively as they could have been, they mostly restricted Liverpool to half chances.

As for the Reds, there was reason to be encouraged with the performance, but this was their third league draw in a row. If they hope to finish in the top four for the second season running, they’re going to have to start winning soon.

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Highlights

Manchester United go top of the table with the point, at least until Manchester City face Stoke later in the day. Liverpool move up to sixth, but could drop down to ninth depending on Burnley, Watford and Newcastle’s results later in the weekend.