Manchester United rallied to snap a fourth successive defeat and halt Liverpool’s run to the Premier League title in a thrilling 2-2 draw at Anfield on Sunday. Liverpool ranked first in points, six points ahead of second-place Arsenal. But Arne Slot’s men wasted the opportunity after going back to win 2-1 through penalties from Cody Gakpo and Mohamed Salah. United broke a six-year goal drought at Anfield and got a much-improved performance when they opened the scoring dramatically through Lisandro Martinez and Amad Diallo equalized in the 80th minute.
They sit 13th in the table, one point ahead of the Red Devils and seventh out of the relegation zone.
Liverpool manager Slots warned United were “much better” than the shock league table suggested ahead of the game – and it has been proven.
Manchester United suffered a crushing 2-0 defeat at Newcastle on Monday, prompting manager Ruben Amorim to declare a relegation fight.
Amorim’s hand was further strengthened with the return of captain Bruno Fernandes and Manuel Ugarte from suspension, while Kobi Mainu also returned to the starting line-up.
Portugal’s plan to thwart Liverpool succeeded, but the home side had early chances to make the breakthrough.
Gakpo received a through ball from Ryan Gravenburch and struck the far post.
Moments later, Salah picked out Alexis Mac Allister with a brilliant pass, which the Argentine received and did well to block Andre Onana with his feet.
United took a while to start posing an attacking threat but should have taken the lead before the break.
Diallo misdirected his header wide of the goal from Diogo Dalot’s cross.
Rasmus Hojlund had the best chance of the first half as he raced behind the Liverpool defence, but was unable to beat Alisson Becker.
new confidence
But confidence is suddenly starting to return to the United players, who had looked lethargic in recent weeks.
The visitors’ breakthrough came from an unexpected source as Martinez showed the strikers how to finish with a fierce strike under the bar for the club’s second goal.
As the league leaders briefly reached six and seven, the Anfield crowd began to grow anxious.
However, Liverpool’s place at the top of the table is largely due to the depth of firepower they possess.
Even on a quiet day for Salah, they had the forward providing input to come up with the magic moments needed to turn the game around.
Gakpo turned his Dutch teammate Matthias de Ligt and beat Onana to score his 10th goal in 15 games.
Despite the equalizer, Slot was immediately rewarded by making two attacking changes with the introduction of Diogo Jota and Darwin Nunez.
McAllister’s header hit De Ligt’s outstretched arm inside the penalty area and a spot kick was declared after VAR.
Salah smashed low and hard past Onana for his 18th Premier League goal in 19 games.
But United’s spirited display helped them halt a surprising string of defeats early in Amorim’s reign.
Alejandro Garnacho’s attitude was questioned by his new manager, but when his low cross was flicked in by Diallo, the Argentine came off the bench to equalize.
And it should have been even better for United when Harry Maguire slotted Joshua Zirkzy’s pass over the bar to send the goal wide into extra time.
(Except for the title, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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