Premier League 2019-20, Manchester United 1-1 Liverpool: 5 talking points

Many call this encounter the biggest game in English football, and some have even gone as far to say it rivals El Clasico. Regardless of the public opinion, it’s a fact that Manchester United and Liverpool are domestically the most successful clubs in England.

However, there’s never been an encounter between the two in which the gap in quality has been so large - especially in favour of Liverpool.

Yet it was United who opened the scoring, albeit in controversial fashion, as the under-pressure Marcus Rashford stabbed home after 36 minutes. The game was tightly contested and heading towards an unfathomable United win until returnee Adam Lallana tapped in from five yards out with six minutes of normal time to go.

The draw sees Liverpool cut their lead to six points at the top of the table, while United dangle two points above the relegation zone. Here are five talking points from the match:

#5 Five at the back

Manchester United only had 32.1% possession today

It’s not the Manchester United way to sit back against any side on the planet, especially at Old Trafford. The days of Sir Alex Ferguson have imprinted a philosophy of high-octane attacking football that eventually wears down any opponent.

But considering today’s tactics from Ole Gunnar Solskjær, those days are clearly dead and buried. The Norwegian sacrificed tradition for practicality, because in essence this was a relegation battling team vs the best side in the country. Five at the back was the only option.

United lined up with five at the back, which turned into a back three in possession. And in the end, the Norwegian’s decision was justified.

The back five deprived Liverpool of space in the final third. And going the other way, the wing-backs forced the likes of Henderson and Wijnaldum to cover the wide spaces, thus opening up space in the middle for Fred and McTominay to bomb forward.

All in all, Manchester United did well to stifle the rampant Liverpool.

#4 VAR is becoming more controversial

Manchester United v Liverpool FC - Premier League

VAR has been the star of the show this season, but for all the wrong reasons. Its implementation in the Premier League has been nothing short of controversial.

First, the criterion of ‘clear and cut errors’ has left fans and players alike expecting too much from VAR. Secondly, the infrastructure is clearly not ready in England.

During other international tournaments we’ve seen VAR being implemented in a way where the officials ask the referee to review video footage, rather than just tell him the decision. But in England it's been rather murky.

In today’s blockbuster game, VAR reared its ugly head once again. First, it refused to rule out Manchester United’s opener despite a clear foul on Divock Origi. It then wrongly ruled out a potential Liverpool equaliser for an alleged handball.

The replays proved that no clear decision could be made, which explains Jurgen Klopp’s anger on the sidelines.

#3 No Mohamed Salah

Liverpool FC v Leicester City - Premier League

At the moment, Liverpool’s front three is the most revered and feared attack in world football. The dynamic trio has built up a chemistry over the past few years that works like clockwork.

But when one of them is absent, the other two don’t shine as brightly. Today, the Reds sorely missed the presence of their talisman Mohamed Salah. The Egyptian has scored four goals and provided three assists so far, equating to 101 minutes per goal contribution, and his absence clearly through the team out of whack.

Against Manchester United, Klopp’s attack lacked ideas in how to break down United’s medium low-block. Divock Origi was tasked with filling the boots of last year’s golden boot winner, but in response the Belgian only completed 14 passes and attempted 1 shot on goal in a 60-minute cameo.

Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino didn’t offer much either, mustering up 2 shots on target between them. In conclusion, #NoSalahNoParty.

#2 Liverpool still unbeaten

Liverpool have only lost once in 48 league games

Liverpool were on the verge of making history today. They came into this game having won 17 PL games on the bounce, and were looking to equal Manchester City’s record of 18. But unfortunately for them, the curse of Old Trafford would once again disrupt their plans.

Today was a great chance for Jurgen Klopp’s men to reinforce their dominance over the rest of the league. Having not won at Old Trafford since 2014, this game against the worst United side in 20 years was the perfect opportunity to make a statement.

Regardless of what they could have achieved, the bottom line is that the Reds are still unbeaten - and six points clear at the top of the table. They have won eight and only dropped two points so far, with many believing they can go the whole campaign unbeaten.

In this current vein of form, it’ll be nearly impossible to stop Jurgen Klopp’s men.

#1 Marcus Rashford is getting back into form

Manchester United v Liverpool FC - Premier League

In this dire spell for Manchester United, much of the slack has fallen at the feet of Marcus Rashford.

Due to the departures of Alexis Sanchez and Romelu Lukaku in the summer, the goalscoring responsibilities have been squarely placed on the shoulders of the young Englishman. But having scored just three league goals before this game, the 21-year-old's quality had started to come under question.

Today, in the biggest game of United’s season thus far, the youngster stepped up and carried his teammates in attack.

In an all-round performance, Rashford successfully executed 4 take-ons, completed 11 passes, attempted 2 shots on goal, created 1 chance and scored United’s only goal of the game.

Just because he’s been playing at the top level for four seasons, people seem to forget how young the striker is. And today, we were reminded of his undeniable quality.