This is Sportstar's match blog of the 2020-21 Premier League outing featuring Manchester United and Liverpool on Thursday.
That's it for today. Thanks for tuning in!
MATCH REPORT |
MATCH HIGHLIGHTS:
AND IT'S FULL-TIME! FINAL SCORE: MANCHESTER UNITED 2 - 4 LIVERPOOL!!!
90+3' Four minutes of stoppage time had been added on at the end of the second half!
90' GOOOOAAAAALLLL!!!!! MO SALAH SCORES!!! LIVERPOOL 4 - 2 MANCHESTER UNITED!!!! Curtis Jones with the assist and Salah was one-on-one with United goalie Dean Henderson, who should have charged forward. Salah maintained his calm and found the back of the net. He was immediately substituted by defender Neco Williams.
87' BOOKING AND SUBSTITUTION! Edinson Cavani fouls Thiago Alcantara and goes into the referee's book, while his Man United teammate Eric Bailly is replaced by Nemanja Matic on the field.
84' CHANCE FOR UNITED! Aaron Wan-Bissaka attempts to send a long ball into the box from the right flank. However, Liverpool custodian Alisson comes off his line to collect the ball comfortably.
81' YELLOW CARD! This is just the second booking on the night, both Manchester United players. Scott McTominay is penalised for an extremely silly tackle in midfield.
78' FREE-KICK FOR UNITED! Bruno Fernandes will take this one as usual from just outside the box. He takes a good shot but the ball goes just wide off the top left corner of the goalpost.
75' DOUBLE SUBSTITUTION! Diogo Jota and Georginio Wijnaldum make way for Sadio Mane and Curtis Jones on the field as manager Jurgen Klopp introduces some fresh legs.
72' CORNER FOR UNITED! Luke Shaw is back on set-piece duty since it is on the left side. He sends a decent cross into the middle. But Fabinho's header, amid a cluster of players, averts the danger.
69' GOOOAAAAALLLL!!!!!! MARCUS RASHFORD SCORESSSS!!!! MANCHESTER UNITED 2 - 3 LIVERPOOL!!! This was a wonderful counter-attack from the home team. Eventually, Cavani passes the ball into the penalty area. Rashford collects it and sends it into the bottom right corner. The ball hit the post before going in.
66' BACK-TO-BACK CORNERS FOR UNITED! The super-sub Mason Greenwood took both the set-pieces and the Liverpool defence averted the danger successfully both the times.
63' SUBSTITUTION! Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer decides to bring on Mason Greenwood to replace Fred on the field.
60' FREE-KICK FOR UNITED! Trent Alexander-Arnold was the culprit for Liverpool. Luke Shaw will take this one for Manchester United. He sends a cross into the box but the Liverpool defences clears the ball away with ease.
57' OFFSIDE! Marcus Rashford is clearly off here. Edinson Cavani comes up with a neat through-ball but Liverpool is playing a clever high line. The referee awards the visitor a set-piece.
54' FOUL! Liverpool is attacking with numbers forward here. Looks like the team wants a fourth goal. Thiago Alcantara, in an attempt to recover the ball, trips Edinson Cavani. United gets a free-kick.
51' YELLOW CARD! Manchester United defender Eric Bailly is booked by the referee for a mistimed tackle on an opposition player. This is the first card of the game.
48' GOOOOAAAAAALLLLLL!!!! ROBERTO FIRMINO SCORES AGAIN!!!!!! LIVERPOOL 3 - 1 MAN UNITED!!!!! Mistake after mistake from Manchester United. The ball was given away loosely by Luke Shaw to Trent Alexander-Arnold just outside the box. He took a step forward and had a shot straight at Dean Henderson who couldn't hold on to the ball. Firmino got on to the rebound and completed his brace.
THE SECOND HALF IS UNDERWAY!
Forty-five minutes to go. Stay tuned!
AND IT'S HALF-TIME! SCORE: MANCHESTER UNITED 1 - 2 LIVERPOOL!!!
45+3' GOOOOAAAAALLLLLL!!!!!!!! ROBERTO FIRMINO SCORESSSSS!!! LIVERPOOL 2 - 1 MAN UNITED!!!! This was a Trent Alexander-Arnold free-kick from the right and Firmino rose the highest inside the box and headed the ball past United shot-stopper Dean Henderson.
45' Three minutes of stoppage time has been added on at the end of the first half!
42' SHOT! Paul Pogba controls a tough pass brilliantly and composes himself before letting one fly towards goal. But the ball misses the target much to the delight of Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson who was wrongfooted.
39' CROSS! Liverpool's Trent Alexander-Arnold with another good run forward on the right wing. He tries to cross the ball into the box. However, Dean Henderson comes off his line to collect the ball for Man United.
36' CORNER FOR LIVERPOOL! Rhy Williams will take this one for a change. He sends a cross into the middle. But Manchester United centre-back Victor Lindelof makes the timely clearance.
33' GOOOAAAAALLLLL!!!!!! DIOGO JOTA SCORES!!!! LIVERPOOL 1 - 1 MANCHESTER UNITED!!! Another moment of chaos inside the United box. Nathaniel Phillips gets to the ball just outside the box and actually goes for goal. But it rolls to Jota who improvises to find the back of the net.
30' CORNER FOR UNITED! Luke Shaw is on set-piece duty for the host. He sends a decent cross into the box. Scott McTominay gets to the ball but his header goes over the crossbar.
27' VAR CHECK AND NO PENALTY FOR LIVERPOOL! There was chaos inside the Manchester United box. Eric Bailly went in with a sliding tackle to clear the ball away. He knocked Nathaniel Phillips off his feet in the follow-through. The referee initially awarded a penalty but eventually changed his decision.
24' Liverpool has done well after conceding the early goal against Manchester United. The visiting team has created several chances here but is missing that finishing touch.
21' CHANCE FOR UNITED! After a good team move, Bruno Fernandes has the ball on the left flank. But his cross attempt is intercepted well by Trent Alexander-Arnold.
18' OFFSIDE! Roberto Firmino was a little too eager to get to a pass from Mohamed Salah. The linesman immediately raises his flag and the referee awards Manchester United a free-kick.
15' CROSS! Andy Robertson sprints with ball on the left wing. He dribbles past Marcus Rashford and tries to supply a cross into the box. However, he puts too much power on it.
12' SHOT! Liverpool winger Mohamed Salah takes the ball forwards with pace, evades a couple of tackles and has a shot on target. But the ball is blocked.
9' GOOOOAAAALLLLL!!!!!! BRUNO FERNANDES SCORES!!! MAN UNITED 1 - 0 LIVERPOOL!!!! Bruno Fernandes receives a pass from Aaron Wan-Bissaka who is on the right flank. He uses his outer foot to curl the ball on target as Nathaniel Phillips inadvertently slots the ball home for MUFC.
6' WHAT A CHANCE FOR UNITED! Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson makes a mess here. He tries to pass the ball to a teammate from the edge of the box. But Edinson Cavani intercepts it and has a go at an open goal from a tough angle. The ball misses the target buy a whisker.
3' PENALTY CLAIMS FROM LIVERPOOL! Roberto Firmino receives the ball in a good position and takes it into the box. He tries to send a low cross but Man United's Eric Bailly puts in a brilliant sliding tackle to avert the danger. The ball hit Bailly's hand. But this was unintentional as the referee signals for a Liverpool corner.
AND THE MATCH BEGINS!
The team lineups are out!
MAN UNITED XI: Dean Henderson (G), Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Victor Lindelof, Eric Bailly, Luke Shaw, Scott McTominay, Fred, Bruno Fernandes (C), Paul Pogba, Marcus Rashford, Edinson Cavani.
COACH - Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
LIVERPOOL XI: Alisson (G), Trent Alexander-Arnold, Nathaniel Phillips, Rhys Williams, Andy Robertson, Thiago Alcantara, Fabinho, Georginio Wijnaldum (C), Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino, Diogo Jota.
COACH - Jurgen Klopp.
Breaking News: Liverpool bus blocked en route to Old Trafford ahead of Man United clash - reports
Liverpool's team bus has been blocked off on its way to Old Trafford as fan protestors attempt to disrupt its Premier League clash with Manchester United for a second time in 10 days, British media reported.
It appears that United broke from its usual routine on Thursday with pictures published on the websites of The Sun newspaper and the Manchester Evening News showing several players arriving early at Old Trafford.
MATCH PREVIEW:
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said he expects Manchester United to field a strong squad in Thursday’s rearranged Premier League fixture despite the Old Trafford club’s hectic schedule.
United travelled to Aston Villa on Sunday before hosting Leicester City on Tuesday. The rearranged fixture with Liverpool, postponed last weekend following fan protests, has been scheduled for 48 hours later on Thursday.
United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said he may have no other option but to rotate his squad heavily because of the fixture pile-up. But Klopp expects a tough test against United, which is second in the league on 67 points after 33 games, 10 points ahead of sixth-placed Liverpool which has played a game more.
“I expect a strong team against us,” Klopp said after Saturday’s 2-0 win over Southampton . “I think Man United has only good players. If I think about the players they could play, they have a really strong side available. Midfield, wow. Up front, all good players. They might be young but they are good.
“What they do in other games, we obviously have no influence but we would have played the strongest Manchester United side last Sunday and that's what we expect now.”
Liverpool kept itself in the hunt for a top-four finish after Sadio Mane and Thiago Alcantara scored in Saturday’s win at Anfield.
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