Manchester United was defeated 4-0 by Liverpool at Anfield and the entire match was well orchestrated by a midfield maestro.
Luis Diaz scored in the fifth minute, and Mohamed Salah extended the lead in the 22nd minute. Sadio Mane added a third in the 68th minute before Salah added his second and Liverpool’s fourth five minutes later.
Manchester United failed to close the gap with the top four contenders Tottenham Hotspur as they’re currently three points behind them.
Former Bayern Munich player and current La Roja international, Thiago Alcantara was one of the stars of the match. The entire United midfield assembly was cracked open by the Liverpool magician. Or we could say that Manchester United midfielders showed no intensity to stop Alcantara from making those passes.
Thiago's first half by numbers vs. Man Utd:
100% take-on success
98% pass accuracy
68 touches
60 passes attempted
59 passes completed
6 final third entries
5/5 long balls
4 duels contested
3 duels won
3 chances created
2 tacklesIt's all too easy for him. 🎨 pic.twitter.com/p7SZp9g5aC
— Squawka (@Squawka) April 19, 2022
According to Diario AS, Thiago Alcantara received a standing ovation when he was brought off by Jurgen Klopp last night. He set the tone and was in complete control of the game. The midfielder completed 110 passes versus United, with five interceptions.
After the game, the English media praised him unanimously, and it’s true that the playmaker has left his injury troubles behind him. But this also means that none of the United players were able to match his statistics from the game.
Liverpool had a better distribution of the ball from the midfield. Looking at the heatmap, it is quite clear that Jurgen Klopp’s men had a lot of possession in the right and left midfield areas.
Also, 799 passes compared to United’s 258 are just mighty numbers. Liverpool had pressed United from midfield areas when players like Nemanja Matic, Anthony Elanga, and Bruno Fernandes lost the ball.
That is also the major reason which was revealed by Salah. The Egyptian attacker did mention that Ralf Rangnick’s men lost the ball quite often in the central areas helping players like Alcantara to completely dominate possession.
It shows that a world-class defensive midfielder can have such a big impact on a game and United will also need to sign a similar player who can help them be a better side when they face Liverpool next time.
