While Manchester United took a point away from Liverpool and significantly dampened their title hopes in the process, it’s fair to say that the overall performance was still below par.
Throughout the first half at Old Trafford, Andre Onana faced 15 shots from the away side’s relentless attackers, with United unable to register a single one in response – the first time this has happened in a Premier League clash since October 2015, according to Opta.
Manchester United have attempted 0 shots in the first half of a home Premier League game for the first time since October 2015, vs Manchester City #MUNLIV
— Opta Analyst (@OptaAnalyst) April 7, 2024
However, Bruno Fernandes’ second-half strike after capitalising on Jarrell Quansah’s mistake saw the tide unexpectedly turn. United then led for the first time in the match when Kobbie Mainoo produced an outrageous moment of magic with one of the most remarkable curled finishes you’ll ever see.
In the closing stages, Aaron Wan-Bissaka was adjudged to have fouled Harvey Elliott and a questionable penalty was awarded, which Mohamed Salah swiftly converted. The spoils were ultimately shared between the two rivals.
BBC pundit ‘in disbelief’ at what he saw
Analysing the 90 minutes on Match of the Day 2, Danny Murphy was unimpressed with the Reds’ showing despite a more spirited second-half shift from Erik ten Hag’s men.
“Desire, discipline and effort. That’s what I think it is [that’s lacking]. And the reason that it’s not there is because it’s not punished when it’s not done,” he began. “The same players end up playing week in, week out, and that’s the manager. You don’t see players doing that for Liverpool, City and Arsenal because they won’t play next week if they don’t do it.
“Ten Hag is on that side where [Alejandro] Garnacho is not running back with [Andy] Robertson time after time. Why is he letting it happen again and again? Why is someone on the pitch not demanding from the other players’ leadership? You have got to stay with him. Troy and I were watching the game in disbelief.”
In fairness to Garnacho, he has now started 31 consecutive matches in just his second season after breaking into the first-team. Injuries across the squad have meant that there’s little room for him to be rested, and fans have spotted recently that the 19-year-old often looks fatigued when playing the majority – sometimes all – of each outing.
