{"id":786,"date":"2017-01-15T21:29:43","date_gmt":"2017-01-15T21:29:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/?p=786"},"modified":"2017-01-15T21:29:43","modified_gmt":"2017-01-15T21:29:43","slug":"manchester-united-1-liverpool-1-match-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/manchester-united-1-liverpool-1-match-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Manchester United 1 &#8211; Liverpool 1: Match Review"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Old Trafford is never a fun place to go. Alex Ferguson worked hard to build the place up into a fortress and it worked well. Few teams went there and left with all three points during his reign. The David Moyes era saw cracks appear in the castle walls, if not gaping big holes. Things may have got better during the Louis Van Gaal reign but nobody knows as everyone fell asleep there.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-partner=\"tweetdeck\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">*Claim they&#8217;re the biggest club in England* *First chant is about our retired legend*<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Sean Beleele (@Sbeleele) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Sbeleele\/status\/820663710075199489\">January 15, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\u201cutf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Mourinho has certainly tightened things back up again. Only Manchester City have won there so far this season. The Reds were heading to the home of their most bitter rivals on the back of some patchy form, with United having won nine on the bounce. News before kick-off that Joel Matip couldn\u2019t start and Nathaniel Clyne had picked up an injury meant that most fans were less than confident. So how did the game pan out? What were the major talking points?<\/p>\n<h2>Mignolet Was In Inspired Form<\/h2>\n<p>I have made no secret of my dislike for Simon Mignolet. The Belgian has been less than impressive at times during his Liverpool career. Good moments or games are almost invariably followed up by mad decisions or nightmare matches during which every shot by the opposition seems to end in a goal. The excellent performance by Loris Karius during the League Cup match against Southampton in the week will have put pressure on him heading into such a high profile game as this.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-partner=\"tweetdeck\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Just spent the last 20 minutes there, repenting all my sins of bad mouthing Mignolet over the years.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Ryan (@ryan3levis) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ryan3levis\/status\/820673909582364672\">January 15, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m not in the camp of Liverpool supporters who would rather watch a player fail in order for me to be proven \u2018right\u2019. I\u2019d far rather that that player prove me wrong and the football club be the beneficiaries of that. If I\u2019m going to give him pelters when he under-performs then it\u2019s only right that I\u2019m just as quick to praise him when he does well. He was my Man of the Match for the Reds today, proving that it\u2019s not just David de Gea who can have a blinder when Manchester &amp; Liverpool meet.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_258\" style=\"width: 610px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-258\" class=\"size-large wp-image-258\" src=\"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Goalkeeper-Simon-Mignolet-of-Liverpool_EUO_mooinblack-shutterstock-600x400.jpg\" alt=\"mooinblack \/ shutterstock.com\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Goalkeeper-Simon-Mignolet-of-Liverpool_EUO_mooinblack-shutterstock-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Goalkeeper-Simon-Mignolet-of-Liverpool_EUO_mooinblack-shutterstock-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Goalkeeper-Simon-Mignolet-of-Liverpool_EUO_mooinblack-shutterstock.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-258\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">mooinblack \/ shutterstock.com<\/p><\/div>\n<p>As well as making some brilliant saves, including one from a Zlatan Ibrahimovic free-kick that he was unsighted on before it was struck, the Belgian was commanding from corners and did some big punches when it was needed. Considering that Jos\u00e9 Mourinho, the football genius, had a battle plan that was basically \u2018thump it long to the big man\u2019 it was vital that the Liverpool goalkeeper stood tall and strong. United didn\u2019t create a lot but Mignolet dealt with what was thrown at him.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-partner=\"tweetdeck\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Long since given up on Mignolet as a consistent keeper. But when he&#8217;s on his game, like today, he can pull off the most outstanding saves.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Tom Cullimore (@tom_cullimore) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/tom_cullimore\/status\/820676432292708352\">January 15, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\u201cutf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Of course the issue with Mignolet has never been that he\u2019s consistently dreadful. He has the ability to pull off some remarkable stops and can look like he\u2019s <strong>finally<\/strong> turned a corner, only to do something crazy that has you pulling your hair out. Even during this match, when he demonstrated some outstanding moments, he still rolled the ball out to a player closely marked by a Manchester United lad when there was less than a minute of the 90 left. They didn\u2019t score, but if they had done it should have gone down as one of his worst errors in recent times. It\u2019s why his improvement in form shouldn\u2019t fool you into thinking he shouldn\u2019t be upgraded.<\/p>\n<h2>Missing A Spine &#8211; But Getting It Back<\/h2>\n<p>With seventeen games left of the season the Reds sit seven points shy of the league leaders. My hope was that Chelsea would drop points against Leicester at the weekend, but the Foxes seem to have taken their league title and decided that that\u2019s enough for them for a while and they rolled over; they allowed Antonio Conte\u2019s side to get away without an implosion based on Diego Costa\u2019s downing of tools. It means the Reds need to keep the pressure up as much as possible moving forward.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-partner=\"tweetdeck\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Frustrating to concede a late equaliser but a point at Old Trafford without Matip, Mane, Clyne etc. is a decent result. Ref had a shocker.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Joel Rabinowitz (@joel_archie) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/joel_archie\/status\/820692630543728641\">January 15, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\u201cutf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>The good news is that Liverpool\u2019s spine will be coming back. We went into this game without a fully fit Jordan Henderson, with Philippe Coutinho on the bench and not at 100% and minus Nathaniel Clyne. There was also the small matter of Joel Matip missing the game because of lunacy from FIFA, but I\u2019ll talk about that a bit more in a second. How many teams have had to make do during this campaign without their most important players? Have Chelsea had to cope without Hazard, Costa, Cahill and Willian all at the same time? No.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_225\" style=\"width: 396px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-225\" class=\"size-large wp-image-225\" src=\"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Jordan-Henderson-player-of-Liverpool_EUO_almonfoto-shutterstock-386x400.jpg\" alt=\"almonfoto \/ shutterstock.com\" width=\"386\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Jordan-Henderson-player-of-Liverpool_EUO_almonfoto-shutterstock-386x400.jpg 386w, https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Jordan-Henderson-player-of-Liverpool_EUO_almonfoto-shutterstock-193x200.jpg 193w, https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Jordan-Henderson-player-of-Liverpool_EUO_almonfoto-shutterstock.jpg 965w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 386px) 100vw, 386px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-225\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">almonfoto \/ shutterstock.com<\/p><\/div>\n<p>We have. We stood toe-to-toe with Manchester United with an eighteen-year-old at right-back because Clyne picked up a rib injury against City. We had to play a twenty-one-year-old up front owing to the fact that our Brazilian playmaker was unable to start the game. Henderson was great, yet imagine how good he might have been if he hadn\u2019t been out injured for the last few weeks. That we would have left the ground with all three points had the officials done their job is commendable.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-partner=\"tweetdeck\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Only one team at the top end of this league is going to be able to basically put their spine back on the pitch the next few weeks.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Philip Blundell (@PhilBlundell) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/PhilBlundell\/status\/820695994467831808\">January 15, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\u201cutf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Manchester United have been in great form lately but we limited them to just a few shots on goal today. They had no real answer other than to push Fellaini, Pogba and Ibrahimovic up front and lump it to them. For a club that has spent close to a billion pounds on transfers recently and has a manager that is supposedly a genius, that\u2019s pretty disgraceful. Liverpool are the only team who can leave Old Trafford with their head\u2019s held high after today.<\/p>\n<h2>Refereeing Decisions Aren\u2019t Swings And Roundabouts<\/h2>\n<p>I\u2019ve said it before and I\u2019ll say it again, being a referee isn\u2019t an easy job. We see things in minute detail that they only see once and at full speed. That\u2019s why the Football Association needs to help out the men in the middle and give them video replays. Would today\u2019s game have been slowed down even remotely if the officials had been given a moment to have a quick look at some video footage of the key moments? No, it wouldn\u2019t have. But the officials might have got those decisions right.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-partner=\"tweetdeck\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">How was that not a card? <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/LFC?src=hash\">#LFC<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/XXRqjw5cU8\">pic.twitter.com\/XXRqjw5cU8<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 James Bloodworth (@J_Bloodworth) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/J_Bloodworth\/status\/820670290501967872\">January 15, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\u201cutf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Michael Oliver is a perfectly competent referee, but he got too many basic things wrong today. He got the penalty decision absolutely spot on but he then spent the rest of the match officiating as if he hadn\u2019t. He gave United every small decision, from slight pushes to mild trips, yet when their players fouled one of ours we got nothing. Wayne Rooney should have been sent off for his foul on James Milner, yet Oliver didn\u2019t even book him. As for Paul Pogba, he shouldn\u2019t have been on the pitch at the end of the first-half. At one point he literally grabbed Henderson around the throat and threw him to the floor, yet the officials gave the home side a free-kick.<\/p>\n<p>As for the assistant referees, Manchester United have now seen five offside goals stand in their last seven home games. One of them was even given the BBC\u2019s Goal of the Month award, in spite of the fact that it shouldn\u2019t have stood. Their goal against us wasn\u2019t offside in and of itself, but one of their players was offside in the build-up in utterly ridiculous fashion. There was literally a line across the pitch showing where both players were yet the assistant was about five foot in front of play.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-partner=\"tweetdeck\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Manchester United have scored 5 offside goals in 7 games at Home! Look at the linesman Jesus Christ. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/DRrP2oiqeV\">pic.twitter.com\/DRrP2oiqeV<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Dean (@DeanCoombes) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/DeanCoombes\/status\/820690399350181888\">January 15, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\u201cutf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>People say that refereeing decisions even themselves out over time, but is that really true? We\u2019re not going to head to Old Trafford again this league campaign. At what other point will our arch rivals have two men sent off and a goal ruled out for being offside in a game that would put us eight points clear of them and just five behind the league leaders? If it happens when we\u2019re away to Watford is that the same thing? If an opposition side sees a man sent off when they should have been when we\u2019re 3-0 at Anfield does that make up for Oliver\u2019s dreadful officiating? No.<\/p>\n<p>Some people might say it\u2019s sour grapes, but that\u2019s just nonsense. It\u2019s perfectly fair to ask questions about a refereeing performance when it\u2019s been so poor and could have such an influence on the season as a whole. We could easily miss out on the title by two points; two points that we should have gained today at the hands of Manchester United. I won\u2019t apologise for drawing attention to Michael Oliver\u2019s performance and saying it wasn\u2019t good enough.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-partner=\"tweetdeck\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\"><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/LFC?src=hash\">#LFC<\/a> withdraw Joel Matip from selection consideration v <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/MUFC?src=hash\">#MUFC<\/a> as they wait for clarity from FIFA on his eligibility during AFCON <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/UqUlBCPwDb\">pic.twitter.com\/UqUlBCPwDb<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Melissa Reddy (@MelissaReddy_) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MelissaReddy_\/status\/820642922416717824\">January 15, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\u201cutf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Then there\u2019s the matter of Joel Matip\u2019s absence from the side today. That FIFA have not yet clarified the Cameroonian\u2019s situation is an absolute disgrace. The club must have been in communication with them since before the African Cup of Nations began, yet they still didn\u2019t know if he was actually eligible to play by the time of today\u2019s game. Much like with the Mamadou Sakho situation that derailed our season last year, the authorities have screwed up twice to the detriment of Liverpool Football Club. It\u2019s crucial that our directors and club officials begin to fight back against the powers that be.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Old Trafford is never a fun place to go. Alex Ferguson worked hard to build the place up into a fortress and it worked well. Few teams went there and left with all three points during his reign. The David Moyes era saw cracks appear in the castle walls, if not gaping big holes. Things may have got better during the Louis Van Gaal reign but nobody knows as everyone fell asleep there. *Claim they&#8217;re the biggest club in England* *First chant is about our retired legend* \u2014 Sean Beleele (@Sbeleele) January 15, 2017 Mourinho has certainly tightened things back [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":258,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/786"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=786"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/786\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":787,"href":"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/786\/revisions\/787"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/258"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=786"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=786"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=786"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}