Manchester United 2-1 Liverpool: Premier League highlights and recap

Manchester United beat Liverpool 2-1 at Old Trafford on Saturday, March 10. Here are all the highlights from the Premier League match.

Manchester United beat Liverpool 2-1 at Old Trafford on Saturday thanks to two first-half Marcus Rashford goals and a determined rearguard action when the Reds pulled one back in the second half.

As expected, United were happy to sit deep and play on the break in the first half, a tactic which worked superbly thanks to the work of Nemanja Matic and Scott McTominay in front of the back four.

The home side also posed a significant threat on the break, with Romelu Lukaku dominating his duel against Dejan Lovren and Rashford making the most of the scraps. The two United forwards combined for the opening goal in the 14th minute, with a little help from Trent Alexander-Arnold, who failed to follow Rashford’s run and then gotten beaten one-on-one.

The goal galvanized United, while Liverpool seemed to lose confidence in the attack that has been their strength this season. In the 24th minute, Rashford got his second, again following good work from Lukaku up front. Juan Mata should have made it three shortly after, but attempted an overhead kick instead of controlling the ball while unmarked 12 yards out.

Liverpool responded well after the break, forcing United deeper and deeper into their own half, but Jose Mourinho’s side defended well and limited the away side to a series of half chances and long-range efforts. The breakthrough, when it eventually came in the 66th minute, came from one of United’s own players, Eric Bailly somehow contorting his body to deflect Sadio Mane’s cross past his own keeper.

From there, it was more or less attack vs. defense the rest of the way. Jurgen Klopp brought on Adam Lallana, Georginio Wijnaldum and Dominic Solanke in an effort to claw back a goal, but United’s defense held up well. Bailly, in particular, was superb in the closing stages, making several key blocks in second-half stoppage time.

Next: Ranking every Premier League season

Highlights

United remain second, but moved five points clear of Liverpool. Liverpool stay third, but could drop a place if Tottenham beat Bournemouth on Sunday.