Analysing the Best and Worst of Manchester United's Performance vs. Liverpool

Manchester United and Liverpool played out a much-hyped game on Monday night that will not be remembered as a classic. From a United perspective, a week before the game it looked like there would be three key issues to be addressed if they were to get a favourable result: the balance of the defence, the balance of the midfield and Zlatan Ibrahimovic's form.

It is fair to say that the balance of the defence worked beautifully, the midfield did its job defensively and even created the odd good chance, but Ibrahimovic's performance was a big part of why United did not get more than a 0-0 draw out of the game.

Let's take a look at the things that went most right and most wrong for Jose Mourinho and his men.

First off, it is important to separate the game into different phases. The impressionistic image taken from the performance is of United defending with a literal back six. Marcus Rashford and Ashley Young occupied the full-back positions, with Antonio Valencia and Daley Blind inside them.

It was a remarkable sight—the kind that left you thinking, "Huh. So, this is what it's like to support a Mourinho team." This became more pronounced as the game went on—and in the last 20 minutes, it became the pattern of the game.

Before that, though, especially during the middle section of the first half and the beginning of the second, United were in the encounter in an attacking sense as well as a defensive one. Rather than an overly defensive mindset, it was a string of individual errors that let them down.

Early on, for example, Marouane Fellaini moved offside from a wide set piece. It was an immensely frustrating and unnecessary mistake, the kind United could ill afford. Young fired in an excellent delivery, but that momentary lapse of concentration from the Belgium international—who otherwise had an excellent game—ended the move.

"

Honest to God, Ibra and Pogba. Fam. Have a paragraph with yourselves after this game

— 2.0 (@MrScripto) October 17, 2016"

Ibrahimovic never developed a direct understanding with Paul Pogba, who was playing in a more advanced position than he has done at United so far. There were several times early in the game when the Swede tried to nudge a ball back to the Frenchman and got his range slightly wrong. That was to prove emblematic of his entire performance.

He should, for example, have done better than to concede a foul when Young brilliantly controlled a long ball from David De Gea and delivered a cross to the far post at which Liverpool goalkeeper Loris Karius flapped. It was the kind of small-margins moment that even at the time felt significant to the eventual outcome.

Playing Pogba at No. 10 did not work. The telling statistic that he completed just two forward passes in the first 40 minutes is damning proof of that. It was not entirely his fault. Ibrahimovic's lack of mobility meant the France international had to do a great deal of running, and when he attempted to link up with the veteran forward, the ball rarely seemed to come back to him. But he could—and should—have done a lot better on the ball.

Rashford also made a string of individual errors early in the game, including a failed attempt to control an excellent cross-field ball from Ander Herrera and a poor cross-field ball aimed at Ibrahimovic that killed United's attacking momentum.

However, he did brilliantly a few moments later. A perfectly executed stepover forced James Milner on to the back foot, and Rashford capitalised by firing in a dangerous cross to the edge of the six-yard box. Karius flapped at it, but again United were unable to make the breakthrough.

United started brightly after half-time, their attack more potent. Pogba made a huge error in attempting to pass to Ibrahimovic after Karius' poor pass found its way to him. The Swede was a long way offside, and the midfielder should have gone alone.

A few moments later, a glorious ball from from the Frenchman found Ibrahimovic at the back post. The tame header he hit back across the six-yard line was the proof of a player badly struggling for form. In the above tweet from Manchester United, he says he will do better in the next game—United need him to, especially if they set up in a similar shape against Chelsea on Sunday.

After a period of United possession at around the 65-minute mark, there was a less obvious egregious error, but one that summed up United's generally misfiring attacking unit.

The ball dropped back to Blind on the left-hand side just over the halfway line. At that point, Young's job was to run quickly towards the Dutchman to provide him with an option for an out ball, given that Liverpool would inevitably press the former Ajax man in possession.

Clive Brunskill/Getty Images

Young was late to react, and Liverpool regained possession when Blind put it out for a throw-in. That kind of small individual error was a big part of a game, which was always more likely to come down to execution than some grand tactical plan.

But it wasn't all bad news for United. Their shape was clearly set up to prioritise safety, and they emerged from a game away from home against a previously free-scoring team with their goal unbreached.

Even in the first half, United sat deep when Liverpool had the ball—more 4-4-1-1 or even 6-2-1-1 than 4-2-3-1—with Pogba and Ibrahimovic the only players staying upfield.

At around the 15-minute mark, they enjoyed a substantial spell of possession thanks, ironically, to some quick and effective pressing. Fellaini and Young—not popular inclusions in the first XI—were crucial to this, providing hard work and physicality.

Herrera was the star turn. As well as providing his now-typical positional discipline, he was instrumental in United's defensive setup. Gary Neville awarded him man of the match on Sky Sports' coverage of the game, and with the Spaniard's numbers it is easy to see why.

There were a few examples of excellent individual defensive play. At around the 26-minute mark, for example, Blind read Sadio Mane's movement perfectly and put in a sliding challenge that broke up a potential Liverpool counter-attack.

A little later, when Nathaniel Clyne and Mane combined to attempt an overlap, Young's time at full-back under former United manager Louis van Gaal paid dividends.

The thought of the former Aston Villa man making a perfectly timed tackle against a quick opposition full-back in the penalty area would have struck fear in United fans' hearts in the early part of his time at the club. However, his defending has come on in leaps and bounds since Van Gaal saw something in him no one else had.

United's single most valuable defensive asset got a chance to show his stuff, too.

The first good Liverpool chance fell to Emre Can when Joel Matip threaded the ball through Fellaini's legs. The Germany international's tenacity—in spite of Chris Smalling hanging on to his shirt—saw him find an opening to shoot. United stayed level thanks to one of their greatest strengths, De Gea's near-superhuman reaction time.

The Spain international pulled off another remarkable save a few minutes later, this time from a brilliant long-range Philippe Coutinho effort that most of the ground thought was on its way in.

The final specific defensive intervention of note was the amazing Valencia tackle on Roberto Firmino. Firmino looked as if he was through on goal following a glorious backheel from Coutinho. Valencia was having none of it, though, switching on the afterburners, getting ahead of the ball and sliding in without giving away a foul. It was an incredibly high-stakes moment, and Valencia got it right.

In the final analysis, United probably got more right than they got wrong on Monday night. Liverpool have been in excellent form, and Mourinho put a stop to that.

It is easy to paint the game with the brush of stereotype; "Jose parks the bus in a big game," that sort of thing. It wouldn't be wrong to do so—that is what was happening by the end of the game.

In truth, though, there was more to it than that. Yes, solidity was prioritised, but there was plenty of attacking talent on the pitch that significantly underperformed. That is something that needs to be addressed, but it was not primarily a tactical failing.

United fans still don't quite know how good their team is, but comparing the organisation on display against Liverpool to the performance in the Manchester derby on Sept. 10, it is clear Mourinho is making progress.