Manchester United Rallies to Halt Liverpool’s Progress

Manchester United halted Liverpool’s momentum, forcing them to a 2-2 draw at Anfield in the 20th round of the English Premier League. This result prevented Liverpool from extending their lead at the top to eight points over second-placed Arsenal.

Liverpool, who have a postponed game against local rivals Everton, had hoped to capitalize on Arsenal’s 1-1 draw against Brighton on Saturday to widen the gap between them. However, they could only secure one point, taking their total to 46 points, leaving them with a six-point advantage over the London team.

United opened the scoring through Argentine defender Lisandro Martínez (52′), but Liverpool responded strongly. Dutchman Cody Gakpo (59′) and Egyptian Mohamed Salah (70′, from a penalty) put them on course for a fourth consecutive win. However, Ivorian player Amad Diallo equalized for the Red Devils in the 80th minute, preventing manager Ruben Amorim’s side from suffering a fourth consecutive loss and lifting their points tally to 23 in 13th place.

After the match, United’s Portuguese captain Bruno Fernandes said, “Up until today, we can’t be happy with just one point. We need the points, and we could have won the match in the end, but it’s a fair result. Both teams played good football.”

However, the midfielder also expressed his frustration, saying, “If we can show this level against Liverpool, the team at the top, why can’t we do it everywhere? That frustrates me.”

Amorim, on the other hand, commented, “When we focus, fight, and give our best, we get something from the match.” He added, “If we don’t do that all the time, we will lose games, and that is clear to everyone.”

He continued, “We controlled the tempo of the game and had a lot of possession. We also had a strong left side thanks to Diogo Dalot and Bruno Fernandes. The former is fast, and the latter has the intelligence required.”

Regarding Harry Maguire’s missed opportunity in the final moments, when Dutchman Joshua Zirkzee sent a cross to the unmarked advancing defender, who rushed a shot over the goal, Amorim said, “Missed chances aren’t a big problem. The important thing is that Harry Maguire gave everything on the pitch, and that’s what matters most to me.”

Meanwhile, Liverpool’s Dutch captain Virgil van Dijk stated, “It could have been much worse. I’m really disappointed to lose points at home, but it is what it is. We have to move forward, and that’s what we’ll do.”

The match saw a number of notable statistics, especially for star Mohamed Salah, including:

• Manchester United recorded their worst start after 20 rounds in the top English division since the 1989-1990 season, with 23 points.
• Mohamed Salah was involved in 38 goals in 27 matches for Liverpool across all competitions this season.
• Salah was involved in goals in 17 of Liverpool’s 19 matches in the Premier League this season.
• Salah became the first player to be involved in 31 goals in the first 19 games of a single Premier League season.
• Salah was involved in 21 goals in the last 11 matches he played against Manchester United in all competitions.
• Salah participated in 8 goals in the last 4 matches he played against Manchester United at Anfield in all competitions.