Liverpool's performance against Manchester United must be a disappointing one to many Liverpool fans, it is very unusual of the team not to get a win after three matches at the start of the English Premier League.
Coming into the game, Manchester United were the underrated side but they turned out to be the team that walked away with all three points at Old Trafford. Under rating Manchester United can be justified, losing to Brentford and Brighton is enough reason to look down on the team but they proved to the world that they still got some fighting spirit in them.
Manchester United needed a win, they needed something to inspire not just themselves but the fans and they got it against the perfect prey. I referred to both teams as wounded lions but one got the perfect opportunity to take down the other. As expected, Ten Hag took advantage of Liverpool's injury conditions and it worked for him.
Liverpool slacked off in the early minutes of both halves and they suffered for it. Manchester United pressed hard for some time knowing well that Liverpool hasn't settled into the game plus Diaz, Salah, and Firmino combination wasn't making much of a threat to the Manchester United defense, thanks to Dalot, Lisandro Martinez, and Tyrell Malacia.
Things changed at some point in the match and we saw Liverpool pressing but recovering from two goals down was impossible.
Looking at both teams' starting lineup, I had a feeling that it would be a long night for Liverpool. Jurgen Klopp's first eleven doesn't look like a formidable side against Manchester United and the bench almost had nothing to offer if things got ugly for Liverpool in the encounter.
There were only a few changes in the Liverpool team that trashed Manchester United 5 - 0 in their second meeting last season and aside from Sadio Mane who left the club for Bayern Munich, every other Liverpool player who was absent is currently nursing injuries.
The worse is yet to be seen from the Liverpool side if their manager refuses to bring in players who will make a difference in the absence of his regular players. It is a long list of injured and I wondered how the team found themselves in such a state, it must be a devastating experience even for the players as well.
It all started with Fulham, and Liverpool struggled against the newly promoted side. Playing against Crystal Palace was nothing to write about even though they squeezed a point out of the encounter. They have conceded first in all matches and had to come back to get a draw but United didn't allow Liverpool to pull the comeback trend as usual.
The absence of pressure on Manchester United's defense kept them organized, they will definitely have conceded if Darwin or Jota was there to make it happen. Firmino impact was felt and it looks like the Brazilian has found his form so far this season. The absence of pressure also gave United the privilege to attack with the whole team.
The game changed with Carvalho introduction, the young lad brought some pressure which paid off.
Darwin could have been a good boost for Liverpool in attack but his suspension in the match against Crystal Palace added to Liverpool's problems now and in more matches to come.
Carvalho, Timikas, and Fabinho were the only players Jurgen Klopp could call on if things went wrong. It would have been enough playing in the Carabao or FA Cup but playing against another top side in the Premier requires more than just these guys.
Managing them would only stretch the players and that could make them experience more injuries to the existing ones. A big congratulations to Manchester United, they got the right victory to fuel their desire for results better than what we saw in the previous season. It wasn't a completely bad game for Liverpool but not getting even a point makes the 90 minutes of exciting football meaningless for their fans.
The fact remains that Liverpool are still without a win in the 2022/23 season while Manchester United's victory against Liverpool has given them a leap over the Meyerside club.
Martinez and Malacia have a great future with the club if Manchester United gets better, the two lads did a great in the encounter.
I wasn't expecting much from Carvalho but his impact was felt after he was brought into the match, his impact led to Salah's goal.
All image was a screenshot from Here