It was a bizarre day at Anfield, with visitors Manchester United taking an early lead and largely outplaying Liverpool until late in the first half. Then, in the second half, Steven Gerrard got sent off just 50 seconds in, and the entire match got sent wildly out of control. A stunning finish from Juan Mata gave United a second, then Daniel Sturridge beat most of their defense on his own to give Liverpool a shot to get something out of what looked like a lost match. Liverpool looked to have the momentum to find an equalizer late, especially after a huge penalty save from Simon Mignolet, but it was too little, too late, and Manchester pulled away from Liverpool in the race for a top-four spot in the table.
3 things we learned from Manchester United’s 2-1 win over Liverpool at Anfield
Let’s just start with this: don’t stamp on people.
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3 things
1. Louis Van Gaal may have found Manchester United's best midfield -- The combination of skills that Michael Carrick, Marouane Fellaini and Ander Herrera provide in Manchester's midfield work better together than any other combination we've seen from Van Gaal's side this season. The energy of Fellaini and Herrera gives Carrick the time and space he needs to work on the ball, the on-ball intelligence of Herrera and Carrick gives United options and balance in building up their attack and Fellaini provides excellent support to the attack with his bulldozing runs up the pitch. This trio dominated Liverpool's midfield for much of the game and set the tone for Manchester United on the day. Manchester's win is very much down to their performance.
2. Daniel Sturridge is very, very good -- OK, so we didn’t learn this per se, but with Sturridge missing much of the season with injury, perhaps we needed a reminder of it. He took charge in a big way after Gerrard was sent off, taking on and beating most of United’s defense and then scoring with a jaw-dropping finish to the near post. Even beyond that, his runs were disruptive to Manchester’s back line, leaving them unsettled and giving Liverpool chances to score goals that they simply wouldn’t have had otherwise. The end of this match isn’t nearly so competitive without him.
3. Brendan Rodgers might make adjustments better than any other Premier League manager -- If things aren’t working for Liverpool during a match, you can guarantee one thing: Brendan Rodgers will find a way to make it work better. Liverpool’s midfield got overrun in the first half hour, so he tweaked the formation in to more of a midfield diamond, and they found themselves back in the match. Steven Gerrard got sent off right after subbing in to the match, and Rodgers shifted his men around again to keep the squad solid. When they had trouble breaking down United’s defense, he made the bold move of bringing on another striker despite being a man down, and that decision helped create Sturridge’s goal. Now if only Rodgers could get more things right from the first whistle so we don’t need to see him making all these mid-match adjustments.
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