Manchester United's 2-1 Win vs. Liverpool Illustrates Progress from Last Season

In a season where manager Louis van Gaal has been compared and contrasted to his predecessor, David Moyes, Manchester United’s impressive 2-1 victory over Liverpool highlighted the most significant difference between the pair.

Against the Premier League’s big four teams—Chelsea, Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool—the Dutchman’s United side have won 10 points and scored eight goals.

Home matches against City and Arsenal are still to come, while an away trip to Chelsea sandwiches both games.

Moyes, by contrast, picked up a mere five points from the same eight fixtures, with just three goals scored.

Despite a number of strange results and a few too many uninspiring performances, it is United’s record in the big games under Van Gaal that illustrates the progress from last season.

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Lining up with the same starting XI that brushed aside Tottenham Hotspur last week, United were outstanding in the first half against Liverpool and controlled proceedings like no other team has at Anfield in the Premier League this season.

Juan Mata, Ander Herrera and Marouane Fellaini, anchored superbly by Michael Carrick, dominated the game and prevented Liverpool from supplying the ball to Philippe Coutinho and Adam Lallana in dangerous positions.

Tactically, Van Gaal got his game plan spot-on. United’s defence played high up the pitch, further limiting the space for Coutinho and Lallana to exploit, while Wayne Rooney, Ashley Young and Mata did a tremendous job of pressing Liverpool’s defence when in possession.

Those two tactical features ensured United won the ball back in areas of the pitch where they could launch their own attacks right away. Herrera was the instigator in that sense, and it was his perfectly measured through ball that led to United’s opening goal.

Mata’s second on the day, a wonderfully acrobatic volley, is a contender for goal of the season.

The Spaniard picked the ball up wide on the ride and cut in to find Angel Di Maria, who played a delightful chip back into his team-mate’s path. The finish from Mata, striking the ball from shoulder height, demonstrated outstanding technique and capped off a Man of the Match display.

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One of the biggest grievances against Moyes was that he never looked capable of winning in such circumstances. A narrow victory against Arsenal aside, the Scot saw his United team thoroughly beaten by City, Liverpool and Chelsea last season.

A draw at home to Bayern Munich, the biggest of games that Moyes managed in his brief tenure, was misleading in the sense that it was the one match where he could get away with playing defensive football.

In games where United had to score and win against their rivals, Moyes’ tactics fell way short. One nine-day spell last March in which United were taken apart by Liverpool and then City highlighted the Scot’s inability to challenge high-calibre opposition.

Against City, for example, United fell behind after a minute and were forced to change formation in order to get a foothold in the game.

Contrast that to the victory Van Gaal masterminded over Liverpool at Anfield. This time, it was Brendan Rodgers who was forced to make a tactical switch at the interval as a result of United’s ascendency.

Steven Gerrard’s red card only increased the size of the challenge faced by the home side, who had to make another tactical switch to fit the 10 men they were left with on the pitch. United, meanwhile, looked comfortable in their 4-1-4-1/4-3-3 hybrid and made their opponents do all the tactical reorganising.

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On the face of it, Liverpool were the worst team United could have faced at a time when they needed to win as many games as possible to regain UEFA Champions League football.

With a pacy, aggressive and interchangeable attack, Rodgers’ side have been the Premier League’s in-form team since the turn of the year. Their playing style contrasts hugely to United’s measured and methodical approach, and many fans and pundits alike saw the game as an easy home win.

That’s why the level of control United had, particularly before Daniel Sturridge pulled one back, came as a surprise.

With Fellaini, Young and Daley Blind on one side and Herrera, Mata and Antonio Valencia on the other, United exposed the flaws in the 3-4-3 Liverpool have been so successful with since they adopted it for the first time in their 3-0 defeat at Old Trafford in December.

At Anfield, United’s performance was deserving of all three points.

That Van Gaal was able to dictate the game with his tactics highlights the difference between himself and Moyes, and more importantly, it bodes well for the rest of the season.


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