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Manchester United 3-1 Liverpool: Five Key Talking Points As Martial Shows What He Is Capable Of

Manchester United got their season back on track with a convincing 3-1 win over arch-rivals Liverpool. David de Gea was back in the United starting line-up after signing a contract extension but they were without Wayne Rooney who was injured while training with United. The first half was a drab encounter as Liverpool were willing to nullify United’s attack by playing five across midfield.

The second half saw United take the game to Liverpool and Daley Blind opened the scoring with a beautifully worked free-kick. The lead was doubled from the penalty spot as Ander Herrera picked himself up and slotted the ball into goal in the 70th minute. Liverpool did have a lifeline when Christian Benteke scored a wonderful overhead kick in the 84th minute but all hopes were extinguished when Anthony Martial, the most expensive teenager came on for United and scored in the 86th minute.

The win eases some pressure off Van Gaal but Rodgers will be left thinking of what could have been. We look back at the game with the five talking points from the game.

A moment of magic changes the game

The first half was horrible to say the least, there really wasn’t much to talk about but one moment of magic, a brilliantly worked free-kick by Manchester United saw Daley Blind be completely open and he curled in a wonderful effort to get United going. The game then changed as Liverpool started to chase the game while United did their bit of attacking.

United turned it on in the second half

Manchester United did not play like United do at home in the first half. Probably a dressing down by Van Gaal got them going again and the introduction of Ashley Young saw them win a free-kick which got them the first goal. After that they did much better in front of goal and had more chances. The Red Devils did dominate possession in the first half but didn’t actually trouble Liverpool all that much, they need to ensure they play like they did in the second half to have any chance of staying in the top four this season.

Both teams have a lot of work to do

While United can celebrate the win, they still have a lot of work to do if they think they can catch Manchester City. United do seem to have some idea of what they are doing with their players, something that Rodgers cannot claim. Liverpool do not know who belong in their strongest line-up and the time is ticking for Rodgers to deliver. There is no attack, no defence and no midfield at Liverpool.

Defence doesn’t work out for Liverpool

When the team-sheet was announced for Liverpool, every fan must have thought that Benteke and Ings will play as a two man striker force with Firmino playing behind them. What it ended up being was a five man midfield with Firmino and Ings on either side of Milner, Lucas and Can. Rodgers isn’t putting players in their correct positions and that takes away a lot from their game. This defensive approach didn’t work ultimately for Liverpool and when they tried to attack, they were hopeless, possibly one of the worst performances from Liverpool, no ideas and no attack.

Rodgers needs to get things right and fast

Rodgers was always going to be under pressure this season and with the fixtures he has been handed, he might have to get a lot of things right to keep his job. Football management does not have the highest rate of survival for managers and with a listless display from Liverpool in one of the biggest, if not the biggest game of their season shows Rodgers is at the wrong end of the pool. Liverpool need to get back on track or its going to be the sack for Rodgers sooner than expected.