Manchester United Hold Liverpool in a thrilling North-West Derby

Shilpa Rajan January 15, 2025

Manchester United traveled to Anfield to face Liverpool, the English Premier League 2024-25 leaders, in the North-West Derby. The Reds are flying high and are likely to win the league title this time. As for United, they began the season poorly and continue to struggle. Despite winning their match against Manchester City, Ruben Amorim’s men have struggled to find momentum. This was another big test for the Portuguese manager.

Return of Bruno & Ugarte

Arne Slot was happy to see Ibrahima Konate return to the starting 11. The Liverpool manager was only without Dominik Szoboszlai for this game. Every other player was available for the Dutch manager.

Ruben Amorim also had some positive news in the camp as he marked the return of two suspended players. Bruno Fernandes and Manuel Ugarte returned to the starting 11. This was a huge boost for a side that struggled in the middle of the park against Newcastle United in the midweek.

Goalless first-half

Liverpool had scored 14 goals in their last three matches. They knew that Manchester United was struggling to keep a clean sheet, and this was another opportunity for a big win. However, the visitors had some other plans. They contained the opposition players and made a good start to the game. The first half ended goalless. Onana made a save to deny the opposition from scoring. Both teams looked composed, and there was a promise of a better game in the second 45.

Manchester United lead; Liverpool storm back

Manchester United were looking like a better team on the night. They lacked the scoring edge but performed well in every other department. Inside the first 10 minutes of the second half, the visitors took an unexpected lead.

Bruno Fernandes has been the main source of goals for the Red Devils. His clever ball between two Liverpool defenders found Lisandro Martinez in the box. The Argentine took full advantage of the situation and drilled a shot past Alisson. The ball found the back of the net in the 52^nd minute.

Liverpool were not going to back down. They equalized in the 59^th minute when Cody Gakpo found space on the left side. He also scored a solid goal from a narrow-angle to bring his side into the game.

The home team was awarded a penalty in the 70^th minute. De Ligt handed the ball inside the penalty box and Michael Oliver was asked to look at the replay. He had no hesitation to give the penalty. Mohamed Salah scored his 18^th goal of the league season. The Reds led for the first time.

Amad Diallo secured a point

Manchester United had a decent game and were not going back with no points. On came Alejandro Garnacho for the last 20 minutes. The Argentine found space on the left flank. He delivered a low cross into the box and found Amad Diallo in the box. Diallo slotted the ball past Alisson and leveled the score.

This was one of the best performances under Ruben Amorim. Manchester United players showed character and will be happy with this point. They could have taken three points but Harry Maguire missed a golden opportunity towards the end.