Premier League, Old Trafford - Manchester United 3 (Rooney 12, Mata 40, Van Persie 71) Liverpool 0
Manchester United won their sixth Premier League game in a row against their great rivals Liverpool at home with a 3-0 victory that relied on brilliance at both ends of the pitch. The visitors set up to pin their hosts back into their own half with a fluid front three of Raheem Sterling, Adam Lallana and Philippe Coutinho, who threatened David De Gea’s area on a number of occasions with their passing, pace and movement. Yet the third part of this trio failed in his duties to man mark Wayne Rooney just 12 minutes into the game, as the Brazilian playmaker let the United captain lay the ball off to Antonio Valencia down the right before arriving in the box to slot home the opener. Juan Mata then doubled the lead before half-time with a near-post header that should have been ruled out as offside. The Spaniard was on when Ashley Young played in the cross that lead to the chance, but a crucial knockdown by Robin van Persie came as he was ahead of the defensive line. Throughout the game, United looked more interested in attacking their opponents directly rather than control possession and the game, but the quality of their finishing allowed this high-risk game plan to work for Louis van Gaal’s team. Van Persie made it 3-0 on the 70 minute mark as Mata picked him out with a smart pass after Rooney’s shot was parried. De Gea then stepped up again to deny half-time substitute Mario Balotelli on three occasions late on to ensure that he kept his clean sheet intact and United held onto their win. The victory keeps United in third with Liverpool now 10 points behind their fierce North West rivals. While Van Gaal may have answered some of his critics with his bold decisions against the Reds, the pressure will now be on Brendan Rodgers to justify his team’s fall from grace after spending big in the summer as last season’s runners up. Having seen off David Moyes’ Manchester United twice in the league last year, his side’s defeat to their old enemy at Old Trafford has all but confirmed their regression to also-rans.
KEY MOMENTS
7' – PRESSING: Brendan Rodgers' desire for his team to press high and be aggressive appears to be working so far. United are struggling to play the ball out of their own half. They look penned in by the visitors.
12' – CHANCE: United are opened up as Raheem Sterling runs through the left-hand channel to take a shot on goal. The Englishman fires it at De Gea who is able to palm it away. It's a nervy start for United who are trying to play out of the back while Liverpool’s attackers looming over them, denying them time and space. Something has to change soon if they're going to be able to snatch the momentum in this game.
13' – GOAL! Antonio Valencia has showed plenty of skill on the ball down the right so far and now he's set up Wayne Rooney for the opener. The Ecuadorian throws a feint and bursts past Hector Moreno and Joe Allen to send in a sweet ball for his captain to fire a shot down the mouth of Brad Jones who can’t stop it. Rooney burst up through the middle from the centre circle to get into the box and score and after initially starting the move with his pass out wide to Valencia.
23' – CHANCE! Sterling has another chance at the near post on the left against De Gea. His movement is playing havoc with Jones' side of the defence especially in the box. He loses his marker and drops into the channel but the Spanish keeper stands tall and bats another shot away.
40' – GOAL! Juan Mata scores a header at the far post from an Ashley Young cross, which is knocked down by Robin van Persie. The Spaniard's run came from deep as the cross was played in but at the moment the Dutchman headed it down for him, he was well offside. The goal should not have stood.
42' – GOAL! Sterling almost conjures up an instant reply with a header of his own. The forward leaps well, rising above his better built markers, but De Gea catches his attempt with ease. He may not have found the net or much luck so far in front of goal but Sterling has impressed leading the line in the first half for Liverpool.
70'– GOAL! James Wilson is replaced by Ander Herrera and Wayne Rooney moves up into a centre-forward role, sprinting free through into space on the left. He attempts a shot but the ball is parried to Juan Mata just outside the area. The Spaniard sees Van Persie to his right and juges his angle of attack to be better suited for a shot, and plays him in. The Dutchman does not let him down and sends shoots the ball in from the right-hand side.
84’ – SAVES! Three saves in as many minutes from David De Gea as Mario Balotelli has a trio of attempts on goal, having finally come alive after arriving on the field at half-time in place of Adam Lallana. He can’t beat the Spaniard however who snatches up all three of his shots.
85’ – CHANCE! Van Persie almost makes it 4-0 with a shot from range that rattles the cross bar. Old Trafford groans. It was a wonderful shot but it just didn't dip enough to turn the score line into a rout.
KEY STATS David De Gea made eight saves throughout the game to deny Raheem Sterling’s best efforts in the first half and the late-game attempts of Mario Balotelli to pull a strike or three back, compared to Brad Jones’ tally of three. United didn’t seem interested in sitting back in possession and played a risky game throughout which would have been utterly undermined regardless of their finishing had their Spaniard shot-stopper failed to keep the visitors at bay.
TALKING POINT Are Manchester United now in the title race? Louis van Gaal’s team are still some way away from running Manchester City and Chelsea close at the top of the table but their victory against Liverpool certainly makes them the leaders of the chasing pack in third. However, given the curve of progress that United are following at present both in terms of results and performances, a continued improvement over Christmas and in the New Year could propel them into the mix for the Premier League title itself. Before that can happen though there is much work to be done to get injured players fit again and fix the team’s defensive balance so that a bad day at the office for De Gea in the future doesn’t automatically lead to defeat.
MAN OF THE MATCH David De Gea (Manchester United): Wayne Roony may have been the box-to-box driving force that knit Van Gaal’s high-risk game plan into a decisive assault on the Liverpool box, but at the other end of the field, David De Gea reigned supreme. The Spaniard was the arch nemesis of Raheem Sterling in the first half, who couldn’t even beat the keeper by trying to dribble around him one-on-one while in the second he saved three shots on target by Mario Balotelli in as many minutes. As referenced above, De Gea made a total of eight saves to keep his clean sheet unmarked and ensure that United’s efficiency up front wasn’t cancelled out by their frailties at the back.
PLAYER RATINGS
Manchester United: De Gea 10; Jones 7, Carrick 8, Evans 6; Valencia 9, Fellaini 7, Mata 7, Rooney 9, Young 6; van Persie 7, Wilson 6. Subs: Herrera 6, Falcao 6, McNair 6.
Liverpool: Jones 6; Skrtel 6, Lovren 5, Johnson 5; Moreno 6, Henderson 7, Allen 6, Gerrard 5; Coutinho 6, Lallana 7, Sterling 8. Subs: Toure 5, Balotelli 5, Markovic 6.
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