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Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand has lavished praise on the Red Devils after their 2-2 draw against Liverpool in the Premier League on January 5. It was United's second consecutive stalemate against The Reds at Anfield in the Premier League.
After a goalless first half, center-back Lisandro Martinez opened the scoring for the visitors in the 52nd minute. A defense-splitting one-two between the diminutive Argentine and Bruno Fernandes left the former with just the goalkeeper to beat.
Liverpool's equalizer arrived within the next seven minutes courtesy of Cody Gakpo. A poor clearance by Manuel Ugarte gave The Reds a chance to catch the visitors off-guard. The attack was finished off by the Dutchman, who fired the ball past Andre Onana's outstretched hands to make it 1-1.
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Arne Slot's side made it 2-1 after Mohamed Salah converted a penalty conceded by Matthijs de Ligt in the 67th minute. Amad Diallo finally made it 2-2 when he converted an inch-perfect cross from Alejandro Garnacho in the 80th minute.
Former Manchester United center-back Rio Ferdinand took to X after the game and praised the Red Devils. He wrote:
"That’s what I want to see from @ManUtd . They have shown what’s in their when they show spirit, desire, effort and some quality in possession. These players have set the standard that needs to been maintained now….the players will feel that performance and know the standard."
The Englishman continued:
"Now they have to govern that changing room and put demands on each other everyday in training and every match day. There will be a satisfied (maybe some feeling could have had more) feeling on that coach home. Remember what it took to create that feeling. Keep building confidence & understanding day by day."
Manchester United will next travel to the Emirates Stadium to face Arsenal in the FA Cup Round 3 on January 12. Liverpool, meanwhile, will face Tottenham Hotspur in the EFL Cup semi-final at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on January 8.
How have Liverpool and Manchester United performed this season so far?
Liverpool and Manchester United have experienced contrasting fortunes this season. Arne Slot's side has arguably been the best outfit in Europe with just one loss so far. Now, they sit at the summit of the Premier League table with 46 points in 19 games. Their only defeat came against Nottingham Forest at Anfield in the Premier League.
Furthermore, they have won all six games in the UEFA Champions League so far, defeating teams like Real Madrid, Bayer Leverkusen, and AC Milan among others. At present, they boast a perfect score of 18 in six games.
Manchester United, on the other hand, have had their troubles this season. With just 23 points in 20 league games, they are at number 13 on the Premier League table. They fired former coach Erik ten Hag mid-season after a string of bad results. However, his replacement Ruben Amorim has had a difficult start to life in Manchester.
In 12 games in charge of the club, he has won just four while suffering six defeats. The remaining two have resulted in stalemates. However, they have been undefeated in the Europa League, sitting at number seven on the table with 12 points in six games.
