Manchester United vs. Liverpool: Score, Reaction from 2017 Premier League Match
Manchester United and Liverpool shared the spoils during Sunday's Premier League action, as the bitter rivals played out a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford.
The two sides were evenly matched before half-time, but Paul Pogba gave away a silly penalty that allowed James Milner to open the scoring. The Reds seemed to be on their way to holding on for the win, but veteran striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic pulled United level late.
As United's official Twitter account shared, Matteo Darmian kept his spot in the starting XI, and Anthony Martial also made the team:
Youngster Trent Alexander-Arnold started the biggest match of his career for Liverpool, with Philippe Coutinho taking a spot on the bench:
Liverpool started the match well, and Emre Can had an early header deflected out by Phil Jones for a corner kick. The Reds played at a slightly higher pace than their opponents, who were more methodical in their passing, patiently working their way into the visitors' half.
Martial wanted a penalty after 13 minutes following a duel with Dejan Lovren, but replays showed there was no contact whatsoever between the two and it was a simple dive from the Frenchman.
Ibrahimovic steered a volley wide of the mark, and Lovren nearly sent the Swede through on goal with a poor pass back for Simon Mignolet.
Pogba perhaps should have opened the scoring after 20 minutes when he came head-to-head with Mignolet, but the Frenchman sent a poor shot wide of the post, to the disbelief of Old Trafford. On the other side of the pitch, Divock Origi sent his shot too close to David De Gea.
The Reds improved as the half wore on, and midway through the first period, Pogba gave away a cheap penalty by handling the ball inside the box, seemingly for no reason. Milner converted from the spot to give his team the lead.
Per Samuel Luckhurst of the Manchester Evening News, the in-form Pogba came crashing down to earth on Sunday:
United tried to hit back and received a lifeline when Pogba somehow wasn't punished for an aggressive move on Jordan Henderson, grabbing the midfielder in some kind of chokehold from behind.
ESPN FC's Alex Shaw noted the Red Devils were struggling:
Instead, the free-kick went United's way, and Ibrahimovic drew a fine save from Mignolet.
United were the better team to end the half, and Henrikh Mkhitaryan came close to pulling his side level after a good pass from Ander Herrera, but once again Mignolet kept his nets clean. After 45 minutes, the Reds still held a 1-0 lead.
Wayne Rooney replaced Michael Carrick at half-time, but Liverpool once again made the brighter start. Origi went close early, as his deflected strike only narrowly missed the mark.
On the other side of the pitch, Mkhitaryan again went close, with Ibrahimovic setting up the chance. Even Liverpool thought that should have been the equaliser:
The Red Devils kept pushing and piling up chances, but Pogba fired a shot from range well over Mignolet's goal. Coutinho came on with 30 minutes left to play, and he immediately created a chance for Roberto Firmino, who couldn't work the ball past De Gea.
Rooney sliced a shot from a promising position, and Adam Lallana tested De Gea again with a low drive. The United captain and Milner flew into a challenge, with the former catching the latter on the ankle and leaving him in obvious pain.
The England international was able to continue, just as Liverpool started to take control. Georginio Wijnaldum nearly took advantage of a mistake from Pogba, sending a diving header over De Gea's goal. Per Bleacher Report's Nick Akerman, the Mancunians had no answer for Liverpool:
Manager Jose Mourinho introduced Marouane Fellaini in an attempt to turn the tide, and the change seemed to alter the momentum. Mignolet made a great save to keep out Rooney, but two minutes later, Antonio Valencia found Ibrahimovic inside the box, and the Swede didn't miss.
Per WhoScored.com, the former Paris Saint-Germain star has been huge for United of late:
Replays did show the goal was clearly offside, however.
Liverpool went on the offensive again, with time dwindling, and Herrera and Firmino were involved in a minor altercation that saw both booked. The incident sucked all of the momentum out of the match, and both sides ran out of time to grab a winner.
As United's official Twitter account shared, Mourinho thought the two teams put together a compelling match:
Mourinho also spoke on the incident with Firmino, saying manager Jurgen Klopp believed he was trying to get the Liverpool man sent off, per Jamie Jackson of the Guardian:
"He thought I was asking for his player to be sent off. I wasn't. There was no problem at all. I think the game was correct. I think the players gave everything but in an emotional and professional way so the referee did very well in that part of the game – emotional and in control of good professionals. There was aggression but it was good so I think it was great publicity for the Premier League all around the world.
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Klopp was of the same opinion about the quality of the match:
United's next outing will be against Stoke City on Saturday, while Liverpool face Plymouth Argyle in an FA Cup third-round replay on Wednesday.
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