Liverpool vs. Manchester United: Winners and Losers from Premier League
Manchester United completed a Premier League double over Liverpool for the season, as Wayne Rooney's strike after 78 minutes proved enough to give the visitors a 1-0 win at Anfield.
Rooney reacted quickly to smash home a rebound after team-mate Marouane Fellaini had seen his header from a left-wing cross hit the woodwork.
The Red Devils won the reverse fixture by a 3-1 scoreline at Old Trafford in September 2015. Astonishingly, according to OptaJoe on Twitter, "Manchester United have scored from all four of their shots on target v Liverpool in the Premier League this season."
It was a smash-and-grab raid by manager Louis van Gaal's side, with the three points moving them up to fifth in the table.
As for Liverpool, they made the running for much of the match but failed to find a way to get the ball beyond Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea.
The defeat leaves Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp's side eight points behind fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur.
Here, Bleacher Report breaks down the winners and losers from Sunday's fixture.
Winner: Wayne Rooney
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A winning goal against Liverpool at Anfield—it doesn’t get much better than that for Wayne Rooney.
The Manchester United captain was forced to feed off scraps for much of the contest, yet he was in the right place inside the area to slam home a rebound and break the deadlock.
BBS Sport's Phil McNulty wrote: "The 30-year-old lifelong Evertonian relishes winning at Anfield, and his delight was plain to see after he hammered home his first goal here since January 2005.”
Rooney has now scored 176 league goals for the Red Devils, the most by any player for a single club in the history of the Premier League.
Loser: Jordan Henderson
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While Manchester United’s captain seized his chance to score, Liverpool’s leader fluffed his lines in front of goal.
Jordan Henderson had five attempts at goal during the game, per Squawka.com.
The best of the lot came in the first half, as neat play involving Adam Lallana and Roberto Firmino set up Henderson. However, from a tight angle, the midfielder pulled his attempt wide of the far post.
Although Henderson's season has been hampered by injuries, he has many qualities. However, to aid both his own career and his team, he needs to work on his finishing.
Winner: Louis Van Gaal
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It has been a good week for Louis van Gaal at Manchester United. The Dutchman hasn't had too many of them during the course of what has been a topsy-turvy season.
However, Van Gaal could afford to crack a rare smile after picking up four Premier League points from two tricky away matches.
The 1-0 win at Anfield came off the back of a dramatic 3-3 draw away at Newcastle United on Jan. 12. After an eight-game winless run put Van Gaal on the hot seat, his side has now gone four unbeaten.
He has now led the Red Devils to four Premier League wins over Liverpool since taking charge.
The latest success leaves his team seven points behind leaders Arsenal. When asked in the post-match press conference if his side can still win the title, Van Gaal replied, per Jim Daly of the Mirror: "We can do it.
Loser: Jurgen Klopp
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Jurgen Klopp failed to find any positives in defeat, according to Neil Jones of the Liverpool Echo: "It's a derby, and in a derby you have only one job—to win it. That's the only way to be satisfied after the game."
For the first time since the German took charge on Oct. 8, 2015, Liverpool failed to score a goal in a home fixture.
Per OptaJoe on Twitter, Liverpool also conceded for a seventh time this season from a corner. That is the most by any team in the Premier League.
Soft at the back and shy in front of goal, Klopp has work to do at Anfield. Liverpool can still win both domestic knockout competitions, as well as the UEFA European Football Championship. So, the cups could soon become the priorities over Premier League points.
A crowded treatment room isn't helping out the former Borussia Dortmund boss, but it will be interesting to see if he is tempted to dip into the transfer market before the January window closes.
Winner: David De Gea
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Wayne Rooney’s goal won the match, but Manchester United would not have picked up all three points had it not been for the performance of David de Gea.
The Spanish goalkeeper—who so nearly joined Real Madrid at the end of the summer transfer window—was resolute as a last line of defence.
De Gea needed a stroke of luck when Emre Can’s shot clipped his leg and went wide of the goal in the second half, but there was nothing lucky about the save he produced to keep out a long-range effort from the German.
Can's sweetly struck drive with his right foot looked set to find the net, only for De Gea to launch himself to his right to paw the shot away.
In awarding De Gea eight out of 10 in his match ratings for the Telegraph, Chris Bascombe noted: "If Liverpool had De Gea and United had [Simon] Mignolet, the clubs would probably swap places. He was the difference between a turgid win and a dour draw."
Winners: Manchester United's Away Following
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An away win over bitter rivals is always sweet. It was made even sweeter for some Manchester United supporters when they had the chance to celebrate with some of the current first-team squad.
Injured trio Michael Carrick, Phil Jones and Marcos Rojo were all spotted among the travelling fans at Anfield, per ESPN FC. However, it is yet to be confirmed if they had complimentary tickets.
It was a show of solidarity from the trio but wasn't without risk.
Carrick tweeted after the victory: "Get in boys! Waited a long time to do an away game properly. Nearly thrown down 3 rows when we scored."
Jones certainly enjoyed the goal too, judging by the Vine tweeted by The Secret Footballer.
