Manchester United earned a deserved point against Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday but may now be sweating over the fitness of two players who started on Merseyside.
The Red Devils took the lead through a thunderous strike from Lisandro Martinez and held on to their task after goals from Cody Gakpo and Mohamed Salah put Liverpool ahead. Part of the spoils went to Amad Diallo’s clever finish into the bottom corner after substitute Alejandro Garnacho had done some good work on the wing.
United played Rasmus Hojlund up front – the Dane preferred the central striker role over Joshua Zirzkee – and Matthijs de Ligt was one of three centre-backs to start, alongside Martinez and Harry Maguire.
After a tough encounter, the… Manchester Evening News revealed that after the game, Hojlund hobbled around the mixed zone – an area where journalists meet to talk to players after the game – while De Ligt walked with what appeared to be ice on his leg.
A possible injury would cause even more distress for De Ligt, who conceded a penalty midway through the second half. The Dutchman rushed in to close down Alexis Mac Allister in the penalty area as a cross came in, only to see his flailing arm deflect the former Brighton & Hove Albion midfielder’s header.
Salah did the rest from the penalty spot, despite Andre Onana getting his spot-kick in hand, but United were undeterred on an afternoon where a number of players impressed. Bruno Fernandes, Manuel Ugarte and Kobbie Mainoo all shone in midfield and put in arguably their best performances of the season, while Martinez also had his best performance in defense.
However, the performance frustrated head coach Ruben Amorim, as the Portuguese tactician was somewhat perplexed as to why United had not been able to compete at such a high level in other games.
“I get angrier because of the other games, so it’s even harder to understand some things,” Amorim said. “It’s not about a system, the technique, it’s about something else and it’s difficult for the coach to understand.”
“It’s a point and I think we should be even more angry and disappointed than we were against Newcastle. We must be really disappointed and I need to calm down and say the right things. We are in a difficult moment. When we play.” Against Liverpool we will do that every day, but we have to do it against every opponent. We have to fight really hard to get out of this situation.
“The way we were really competitive is what is important going forward. I’m happy with the performance, not happy with the result, but really, really angry about the other games.”