Man Utd forced Liverpool to share points in Premier League

Before the match, everything was against Man Utd. They had just been eliminated from the Champions League group stage with a long list of bad statistics, and had lost nearly half of their Premier League matches after 16 rounds. Last season, also on the away trip to Anfield, Erik ten Hag and his team were defeated 0-7. That was one of the biggest stains in Man Utd's history.

However, there was no "massacre" as most predicted before the match. On a day when many Liverpool positions played below their ability, Man Utd's deep defensive style was effective. As for neutral spectators, who were waiting for an eye-catching match between the two great rivals of English football, this was a disappointing result. OnSky Sports, former Liverpool centre-back Jamie Carragher exclaimed: "The match was horribly boring".

Ten Hag may have planned for a draw. United started with four defenders, but Sofyan Amrabat often dropped deep to reinforce the defence. This left Liverpool unable to find space. Despite having 34 shots in total, the most in a Premier League game this season, they only had the ball on target eight times and did not cause much trouble for goalkeeper Andre Onana.

Several times Mohamed Salah played the ball to Darwin Nunez who moved to the near post. But when the ball was passed back, there was no Liverpool player to support.

Nunez was also one of Liverpool's worst players in the match. The Uruguayan striker was caught offside three times and caused controversy in the first half. He knocked down Jonny Evans and then deliberately kicked the ball away when he was penalized. Nunez received a yellow card, but according to reportersGuardianMartin Lancon, the home striker, should have been sent off for two different offences. This observation is well-founded when compared to Diogo Dalot, who received two consecutive yellow cards in the fourth minute of injury time of the second half for protesting. Frustrated with referee Michael Oliver's somewhat harsh decision, the Man Utd defender threw objects on the way into the tunnel.

Salah, the most anticipated player on the home side, did not have many opportunities to show his ability. In the 16th minute, he rushed in to shoot after Onana's failed catch but failed. At the end of the first half, the Egyptian striker had space to kick outside the penalty area but his shot lacked power. In the second half, Salah had two more shots at his favorite angles, both of which were unable to beat Onana.

In a dull match, the period from minute 60 to minute 70 witnessed a rare excitement. This was the time when Klopp took a risk by adding striker Cody Gakpo, while Trent Alexander-Arnold was promoted to play in midfield. But this also opened up space in the middle of the field, creating conditions for Man Utd to counterattack.

In the 67th minute, from Antony's pass, Scott McTominay created a wall for Rasmus Hojlund to run down and face Alisson Becker. But the shooting angle was quite narrow and the ball fell to his weaker right foot, the Danish striker shot straight at the Liverpool goalkeeper. Hojlund's back kick was also unsuccessful, blowing away his first goal-scoring opportunity in the Premier League.

Liverpool also had reason to regret, when Alexander-Arnold's long-range shot went just wide of the post. In the 76th minute, Nunez and Luis Diaz stirred up trouble in the Man Utd penalty area, but both Onana and Amrabat rushed to clear the danger. In the 85th minute, Liverpool demanded a penalty after Luke Shaw handled the ball in the penalty area. But VAR did not take long to determine that the Man Utd defender was not in an unusual position when the situation occurred.

The 0-0 result means Liverpool cannot reclaim the top spot from Arsenal - who beat Brighton 2-0 this round. Klopp's team currently has 38 points, equal to Aston Villa but above them thanks to a better goal difference, and is one point behind Arsenal. Man Utd have been overtaken by Newcastle in sixth place, but one point is probably a success for Ten Hag's team in the current context.

Liverpool will face West Ham in the quarter-finals of the League Cup next week and then host Arsenal in the round of 18. Man Utd will have a week off before visiting West Ham.