Liverpool sealed a place in the Europa League quarter-finals, as they effective saw out Manchester United at Old Trafford to clinch the tie 3-1 over two legs. Needing to overcome a 2-0 deficit from last week’s poor performance at Anfield, United fans thought a comeback was on when Anthony Martial converted a penalty he won after 30 minutes. However, a moment of individual brilliance from Philippe Coutinho – which resulted in a cute dink over David de Gea – secured the crucial away goal right on the stroke of half-time and effectively sealed the tie in Liverpool’s favour.
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United pressed hard in the second half, but were thwarted by some good defensive teamwork by Jurgen Klopp’s side.
Liverpool will learn their opponents for the quarter-finals when the draw is made on Friday. One potential opponent is Borussia Dortmund, Klopp’s former club with whom he reached the Champions League final in 2013, which was played at Wembley.
We take a detailed view of each player’s performance and assign them a rating from 1-10:
Manchester United
David de Gea – 7.5
The Spaniard made a number of decent saves, including a brilliant tip over from a thunderous Coutinho strike. He could do absolutely nothing about Coutinho’s dinked goal.
Guillermo Varela – 6
He was outpaced by Coutinho for Liverpool’s equaliser. No one could really blame Varela for that, it was just pure class by the Brazilian. The Uruguayan was taken off at half-time for Antonio Valencia.
Chris Smalling – 7
The centre-back looked solid at the back. He was aware of the threat Liverpool could pose on the break and remained composed throughout.
Daley Blind – 7
The Dutchman too remained on his feet while dealing with Liverpool’s counter charges. He kept Sturridge at bay. Was stretched a bit by Origi late on.
Marcos Rojo – 6.5
He could have put United 2-0 up just before Coutinho’s equaliser, only to scuff his shot wide. He tried to offer a lot up the field, linking up with Anthony Martial to help cut open the Liverpool defence. He got substituted for Matteo Darmian in the second half.
Michael Carrick – 7
The veteran midfielder set Manchester United’s attacks with his ground and long passes. Stayed back most of the time to shield his defence in the event of Liverpool launching a counter attack.
Marouane Fellaini – 7
A much better performance for the big, burly Belgian. He won nearly all his aerial duels and was passing the ball around nicely. He was dynamic in a left central midfield position, understanding United’s urgency to go forward and finding his passing target swiftly to send the attack on their way. He does lose ratings for his yellow card for elbowing an opponent.
Jesse Lingard – 6.5
The 23-year old fluffed a wonderful chance to put United ahead, seeing his effort well saved by Simon Mignolet. He held the ball up pretty well on the right wing – giving Varela and Valencia possession for them to advance forward in either half. However, he was ineffective when he found himself involved in the heart of United’s attacks, giving away possession and shooting well off target on a particular occasion.
Juan Mata – 6.5
A quiet display by the Spanish playmaker, whose lack of pace suited Liverpool’s defenders very well as they were able to cover him pretty effectively.
Anthony Martial – 7
Once again, the 20-year old displayed his adroitness on the ball with his quickfire skipping and dribbling to unsettle Nathaniel Clyne. The former’s trickery forced the latter to bring him down, resulting in a penalty and United’s first goal. He was double-manned by Clyne and Lallana in the second half, preventing him from finding the rquired openings to create goal-scoring opportunities. His wayward shooting was a problem all night.
Marcus Rashford – 7
He was electric on the right side of midfield, completing a couple of impressive dribbles past Milner and making a number of dashing runs towards the byeline. All that came to no avail.
Substitutes:
Antonio Valencia – 7
Making his first start since returning from injury, the Ecuadorian fullback kept haring at Emre Can and James Milner with his pace on the ball. He managed to win the ball from the opponents on a number of instances, helping his side create chances.
Matteo Darmian – 6
He replaced Marcos Rojo midway through the second half in a bid to inject some pace into United’s desperate attacking force. However, the Italian could not influence his side’s dynamics to turn the tie in United’s favour.
Bastian Schweinsteiger – 5.5
The German midfielder was thrown on with 20 minutes to go in an attempt to introduce some creativity to United’s system. But he will be remembered for a dangerous snapping tackle on Adam Lallana on the edge of the 18-yard box.
Liverpool
Simon Mignolet – 7.5
A brilliant save to frustrate Jesse Lingard was a highlight for the Belgian keeper. That apart, he had to make a few routine saves. Mamadou Sakho’s impressive display ensured that he was largely untroubled in the second half.
Nathaniel Clyne – 6
A below-par performance from the English international. He conceded the penalty which led to United’s goal, following which he was constantly being beaten by Anthony Martial. He was hardly seen up the field trying to initiate a Liverpool attack from the wing.
Dejan Lovren – 7.5
The Croatian continues to grow in stature under the eye of Klopp. He had a confident game at Old Trafford, keeping out crosses and intercepting that final pass in the penalty area to thwart United.
Mamadou Sakho – 8.5
The Frenchman could have arguably had his best game in a while, keeping in mind his indifferent form over the last two months. He was assured with his headed clearances and interceptions. His performance ensured Liverpool’s penalty area remained danger-free for most of the game.
James Milner – 7
Starting in a left-back position due to Alberto Moreno’s injury, Milner gave in a good performance, not allowing Jesse Lingard to get the better of him. His versatility in various positions showed on Thursday night, as he even looked to challenge Varela going forward with some decent looking runs down the flanks.
Emre Can – 8
It was a brilliant performance from the German in the middle of the pitch, making timely interceptions and committing himself to a number of vital tackles to make sure that Manchester United were never really allowed to engineer clear-cut chances to reduce their deficit. His sublime back-heeled pass to Coutinho in the second half was another example of his positive impact in every area of Liverpool’s system, be it in defence or in attack. He was lively and creative throughout the 90 minutes.
Jordan Henderson – 6.5
The skipper was solid in his half and did his job as far as defensive work was concerned. He was, however, kept under the radar by his midfield partner Can as he didn’t really stamp an impact on his side’s performance up the field. He was positive with his passing but was never in the thick of things as far as chance creation was concerned. He had a massive chance to put Liverpool ahead in the first half but spurned his shot over the bar.
Adam Lallana – 6.5
Another Liverpool player who had a contrasting display from the first leg. His tendency to hold the ball up over time slowed Liverpool’s counter-attacks. A fairly quiet performance from the ex-Southampton man. He did, of course, double-man Anthony Martial alongside Clyne on the wing, keeping the 20-year old from launching that run along the bye-line he is normally so adept at doing.
Roberto Firmino – 6.5
Liverpool’s Man of the Match in the first leg also had a reserved display at Old Trafford – not really being able to put his class on display as much as he would have liked. He was kept at bay by Smalling, who ensured that the Brazilian was not given the space to work the ball around.
Philippe Coutinho – 9
Match-winning performance. That describes the Brazilian’s performance. He was absolutely running circles around the United defence, especially poor Guillermo Varela. His run from the half-way line to beat the Uruguayan, followed by a searing run along the byline and the presence of mind to dink the ball over David de Gea was the act no less than that of a magician. That goal effectively shattered any hopes of United coming back in the tie, as they needed to score three to progress. The goal aside, he was flamboyant – completing dribbles for fun and having cracks at goal with that brilliant right foot of his. He could easily have scored a couple more, but for David de Gea – whose saves thwarted the 23-year old even in the first leg. In short, it was a memorable display from the winger.
Daniel Sturridge – 6.5
Apart from a free-kick from the edge of the box which beat de Gea and smashed the crossbar, it was a relatively subdued night for the usually buoyant striker. He was well closed down by Blind.
Substitutes:
Divock Origi – 7
The Belgian had a shot on target, which was saved by David de Gea. He was lively in the 25-odd minutes he was on the field. If anything, he was giving Blind a couple of problems with his pace, something Sturridge struggled to do.
Joe Allen – 6.5
The ‘Welsh Xavi’ effectively ran the clock down with some confident short passes.
Christian Benteke – N/A
The big Belgian striker replaced Firmino very late in the game. No time to make an impact. Not that he had to.
