Marcus Rashford Brace Gives Manchester United Crucial Win vs. Liverpool

Marcus Rashford's first-half brace saw Manchester United to a 2-1 win over bitter rivals Liverpool at Old Trafford on Saturday in the Premier League.

Rashford lit up a slow start to the game in the first half, as he netted twice in the space of 10 minutes to put United into a two-goal lead.

Following the interval, Liverpool improved and halved United's advantage thanks to a comical own goal from Eric Bailly. And while the visitors pushed hard for an equalising goal, the Red Devils were able to round off a strong defensive display and see out a huge win.

The victory for United sees them move five points clear of Liverpool in second place and 13 points behind Premier League leaders Manchester City.

While the atmosphere in the stands was feisty, the initial exchanges on the pitch were timid. It needed a moment to ignite the match, and it came from Rashford.

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The forward latched onto a knockdown from Romelu Lukaku in the left channel to get one-on-one with Trent Alexander-Arnold. Rashford quickly shifted the ball inside and hammered a rapid shot past Loris Karius into the bottom corner.

As Sky Sports Statto noted, the strike ended a mini-drought for the youngster as Old Trafford was sent into raptures:

With Liverpool reeling, United seized their opportunity and continued to power forward in search of a second. During the spell of Red Devils dominance, the visitors' defence was clearly struggling with Lukaku's power.

The Belgian was involved in the second, as he bustled towards the box and saw Virgil van Dijk slice away his pass. But once again, Rashford was there to tuck home, as his effort took a nick off Alexander-Arnold and past Karius.

Per former United man Danny Higginbotham, Liverpool's players were being a little flummoxed by the home side's tactics:

Rory Smith of the New York Times noted a weak point in the away side's defence that United were relentlessly targeting:

At the other end of the pitch, the Red Devils defence was keeping Liverpool's potent attacking trio under control. Before half time, United had the best chance to score again, with Juan Mata missing the target with an audacious overhead kick.

After being bullied for so long in the first half, there was always going to be a response from Liverpool in the second period. But it was a United player who gave the Merseyside club hope of salvaging something.

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Sadio Mane scampered away down the left flank, and there appeared to be little danger when his tame cross found Bailly. But the United man turned the ball into his own net past David de Gea at the near post. 

Per Sport Witness, it was clear the United defender wanted the stadium to swallow him up after such a big error:

It offered Liverpool belief they could get back into the game, and Jurgen Klopp sent on attacking reinforcements in search of what would've been a huge point for his side. However, the Red Devils were able to take the sting out of the game late on and prevent their rivals from building any momentum.

The victory is a massive one for United at the start of a huge week for Jose Mourinho's team. They face Sevilla in the second leg of their Champions League last-16 clash on Tuesday before a quarter-final meeting with Brighton & Hove Albion in the FA Cup.