#4 Attacks canceled out in the midfield
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The biggest challenge for United was to stem the brilliance of Henderson, Coutinho, and Firmino who provide the thrust to Liverpool's free-flowing style in the midfield. Mourinho unsurprisingly deployed Herrera, Fellaini, and Pogba in the midfield to counter the threat posed by the Liverpool trio.
United Man of the Match Ander Herrera was brilliant in his role as he came away with most touches of the ball (90) from the match. Though most pundits like to believe that the Spaniard is more suited to an advanced role, he was brilliant at Anfield in pressing fast and closing down spaces for Coutinho and Firmino.
The Brazilian talisman for the Reds tried his best to take on the United defence but had a quiet night by his side as Liverpool had to be content with just a few shots on target despite their overwhelming possession.
United had just 35% of the ball – the lowest possession they have ever had in a league match since Opta started recording the data in 2003-04. Fellaini along with the defenders sat back, happy to concede possession and defend for most of the time. It was classic Mourinho style at its best.
The Portuguese manager said, “Look last season United won here, Liverpool had 14 shots on target and United had one. How many shots on target did Liverpool have today, Two? So two shots with 65 percent possession - you have to be critical because that's their problem, it's not our problem.
"That was the game we planned. We didn’t want to control the game by having the ball all the time. We know that they want to press our first phase and we know that the transition when they lose the ball is really strong and high. We knew it would be very difficult for them to score a goal; what we always thought was that we would score a goal to win the match, which we tried."
The added disadvantage for United in counter-attacks was the abysmal performance by their record summer signing Paul Pogba who was a peripheral figure for most of the match. His physical prowess might have moved Mourinho to play him in the no. 10 role ahead of Juan Mata but the world's most expensive player had a forgetful night in the advanced role in midfield.
Pogba played just 38 passes and his passing accuracy was down to 71 percent. He had only one touch in the opposition box as Mourinho later said that he had expected much more from his French midfielder.
