Man Utd excellently hold Liverpool to a draw

Liverpool controlled the ball with a rate of nearly 70% and launched 34 shots (according to statistics from Whoscored). However, the home team at Anfield could not defeat Man Utd even though the away team entered the match in a state of crisis.

Man Utd accepted to defend deep with a very low formation. This was a match where coach Erik ten Hag had to field a patchwork lineup.

In the first 15 minutes, Liverpool put a lot of pressure on Andre Onana's goal. Mohamed Salah's shot or Ibrahima Konate's header gave Liverpool fans a lot of hope. However, this was a match where Man Utd's defense played very solidly.

On the left flank, Luke Shaw concentrated and caused Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold a lot of trouble. In the difficult situation with the absence of Harry Maguire, the central defender pair Jonny Evans and Raphael Varane coordinated very well together.

Liverpool's most dangerous chance of the first half came from a set piece. In the 28th minute, Alexander-Arnold took a great corner kick, Virgil van Dijk jumped high to head the ball but Onana made an excellent save. Liverpool completely dominated the first half but could not score.

In the second half, Man Utd tried to push up the squad to reduce the pressure on the home field. In fact, the adjustments of coach Erik ten Hag brought positive results. Man Utd played confidently and gradually had remarkable counter-attacks.

In the 55th minute, from a pass from Kobbie Mainoo, Alenjandro Garnacho faced Alisson Becker but Alexander-Arnold still intervened in time to prevent the Man Utd striker from finishing. Not long after that, Man Utd organized a very good counter-attack, Scott McTomminay passed the ball to Rasmus Hoijlund but the Danish star missed the opportunity when he was very close to the goal.

Defensively, the Man Utd defenders remained surprisingly focused. They calmly neutralized many Liverpool attacks. On a day when Salah and Darwin Nunez were disappointing, the Anfield team did not defeat Andre Onana once.

In stoppage time, Diogo Dalot was sent off for protesting against the referee. However, the remaining time was not enough for Liverpool to take advantage of the extra man.

Result: Liverpool 0-0 Man Utd

Liverpool vs Man Utd lineup

Liverpool: Alisson Becker (1), Konstantinos Tsimikas (21), Virgil van Dijk (4), Ibrahima Konate (5), Trent Alexander-Arnold (66), Ryan Gravenberch (38), Wataru Endo (3), Dominik Szoboszlai (8), Luis Diaz (7), Darwin Nunez (9), Mohamed Salah (11)

Man Utd: Andre Onana (24), Luke Shaw (23), Raphael Varane (19), Jonny Evans (35), Diogo Dalot (20), Sofyan Amrabat (4), Scott McTominay (39), Kobbie Mainoo (37), Alejandro Garnacho (17), Rasmus Hojlund (11), Antony (21).

Round 17

XH	Team	Battle	BT-BB	Point
1	Arsenal	17	35-15	39
2	Liverpool	17	36-15	38
3	Aston Villa	17	37-21	38
4	Man City	17	40-20	34
5	Tottenham	17	35-23	33
6	Newcastle	17	36-21	29
7	West Ham	17	29-30	27
8	Man Utd	16	18-21	27
9	Brighton	17	33-30	26
10	Chelsea	17	28-26	21
11	Fulham	17	26-29	21
12	Brentford	17	24-24	19
13	Wolverhampton	17	21-29	19
14	Bournemouth	16	21-30	19
15	Crystal Palace	17	17-25	17
16	Everton	17	22-20	16
17	Nottingham Forest	17	17-30	14
18	Luton Town	16	17-32	9
19	Burnley	17	16-36	8
20	Sheffield United	17	12-43	8