Another one down, another step nearer. Nothing was decided by this victory but some people seem to be seeing it as “the day the title was won”. I’m not sure why, to be honest. Remove the name of the opponent and the situation is just that we beat an average team at Anfield.
Would the reaction have been the same if we’d beaten Palace or West Ham? No. But because it’s United we’ve got Gary Neville talking about the Salah goal as “the moment the title was decided”. That goal didn’t even decide the game as we’d won anyway. In terms of results that showed the title was heading to Anfield, this is way down the list for me and it’s giving United far too much credit to suggest that this was some kind of ‘signature win’.
United are a mediocre team right now and to be completely honest I’m frustrated we didn’t beat them by more goals. I suppose City dropping two points the day before plays a part, but we’re miles ahead anyway and, funny as it was, I don’t think the Palace equaliser was especially significant. Hopefully City continue to drop points though just so we can wrap this up as soon as possible.
It’s hilarious listening to Solksjaer trying to cling to little positives. “We did better than in the game here last year”. Not really. It was pretty much the same type of “please don’t hurt us” type of performance that we’re seeing from virtually every opponent we come across these days.
In terms of what we’ve seen at Anfield of late, United’s display was slightly better than Sheffield United and significantly worse than Watford and Wolves. If they want to take some positive little crumbs from that, let them. I think it’s fucking hilarious. Ole is hilarious. He’s so deluded and so cheerful I just don’t have it in me to dislike him. He’s a funny guy. Like a clown. He amuses me.
I mean come on, “They don’t carve you open” is an all time classic. The stuff about us being direct and playing a lot of long balls is 100% true, but to suggest we don’t carve teams open is embarrassing for him. Almost as embarrassing as his lowering of expectations and attempts to give himself credibility with claims like “it shows how much we’re respected that Man City didn’t rest players against us”. He’s like a little goblin faced Norwegian Hodgson.
The long ball thing is interesting though. I think it was more of an observation than a dig, but ‘long ball’ has a stigma attached to it as it immediately makes you think Tony Pulis alehouse footy.
The long ball has become a really useful weapon for us. Look at how we destroyed Everton with it for example. It’s been a definite ploy, especially this season, and it’s made us even more dangerous than we were before. Remember when we couldn’t break down the shit teams who just wanted to sit back? That doesn’t work anymore, because we’re constantly turning them around with balls over the top.
It doesn’t even matter if it works. Just the threat of it is enough to stretch teams because they have to drop off. And when they drop off, Bobby can find space between the lines. Basically, we can hurt teams in every conceivable fashion now which makes us virtually unstoppable. We’ve scored in every single league game and now we’re not conceding any at the other end.
We’re so fucking good now that ‘big’ teams are actually getting credit for not getting walloped and for having a ten minute spell where they looked alright. This was almost exactly like last week at White Hart Lane. United were marginally less cowardly than Spurs, I’ll give them that. But this was still men against boys and on another day the scoreline would have reflected that.
I’ve never been less concerned about a game with United. I couldn’t have been any more relaxed about it beforehand. I expected us to not only beat them, but to embarrass them. To humiliate them. To slap them all over Anfield and put them in their place after they had the temerity to take points off us earlier in the season.
The only reason that didn’t happen was some poor finishing, great goalkeeping and a VAR ref with ideas above his station.
We dominated for forty minutes, had a bad five minute spell before the half and then came out flying after the break before we ended up having to just see it out for the last 15.
I thought we started a little slowly but that may well have been down to United surprising us by pressing high up the field rather than just sitting back. I’m not sure we expected that, and it was a little uncomfortable at times seeing us playing out from the back and taking risks. We gave the ball away a few times but they weren’t good enough to do anything with it.
Rashford not playing was a bad deal because he’s the only United player who I felt could have potentially hurt us. He’s their best player and he’s been carrying their whole team for weeks. No wonder his back is fucked.
Once we adapted to what they were doing we took complete control. Virg powered in a header to give us the lead and Bobby should have made it two soon after but put his shot wide after being picked out by Mo. He did have the ball in the net shortly after and a finish of that quality deserved better than to be chalked off by VAR.
That disallowed goal has genuinely irritated me, more because of the manner it was ruled out than the injustice of it not being a foul. Had Craig Pawson actually blown for a foul I’d have been ok with it as to me that was a call that could have gone either way. Virgil didn’t foul him but any time there’s contact with a keeper and he flaps at the ball, a whistle usually follows. So had the ref given it as a foul then no problem.
Where the problem occurs is that the tit watching the video somehow decided that was a clear and obvious error. He’s perfectly entitled to look at that and think “I reckon it’s a foul”, but that’s not his remit. His job is to ask “is that a clear mistake by the referee?” and the fact is that it wasn’t. It was a subjective call that could have gone either way, so in that scenario they’re supposed to go with the decision on the field.
The question I have is that given it wasn’t a clear error but it may have been a foul, why didn’t they just ask Pawson to take a look at it to see if he still felt the same way? Just say to him “that’s a 50-50 call that Craig, do you want to take a look to make sure you’re happy with it?”. If he takes a look and then decides he made a mistake, then fine, I’m good with that. The way it actually went down though was wrong.
I don’t know about the rest of you, but I didn’t celebrate the ‘goal’ anyway. I mean, I stood up and applauded the brilliant finish, but I didn’t fully let myself go because even if the goal would have counted there was always first going to be a VAR check to see if Virg fouled De Gea. Bobby celebrated though, he’s not missing out on a chance to bring out the finger guns.
A lot of teams would feel sorry for themselves after that but I looked at our lads and you would never have known that a major decision had gone against them. The body language right across the team was as though it had never happened. Even afterwards when Virg spoke about it he said “I didn’t think I fouled him but you have to go with what VAR says”.
If that goal had stood I’m thoroughly convinced we’d have wiped the floor with United and scored four or five. We just needed that second goal to break their resistance and open the floodgates. We had the ball in the net again through the magnificent Wijnaldum, but he’d strayed an inch or two offside. The linesman flagged on that one so the celebrations were cut short immediately. Still, there was always the possibility he’d gotten it wrong and VAR would intervene. Sadly not.
Mané should have scored after being released by Salah but his shot was too close to De Gea who saved with his foot. He saves more with his feet than he does with his hands, that prick. He’d been booked for his protests when Pawson had initially given the goal, and he’s lucky it was only a yellow considering how aggressive he was. Shame he’s not that aggressive when challenging for aerial balls, the fucking lightweight.
It’s a source of immense frustration to me that the second goal didn’t come. Obviously winning is the main thing and I’m happy about that. I just think that one of the few things this team is yet to accomplish is to deliver the absolutely fucking mullering of United that’s been coming to them for a couple of seasons.
The last five minutes of the half were sloppy and United enjoyed much more possession than they had previously. They didn’t do much with it and the only clear chance they had was when Wan-Bissaka stole in at the back post and his cross-shot was almost converted by Andreas. I thought Wan-Bissaka was offside anyway, but I haven’t seen any replays of it so I’m not sure.
Andreas had a speculative shot from distance that Alisson saved comfortably but other than that Alisson’s goal was rarely threatened. They only had one chance in the second half too, which Martial bottled and smashed over the bar.
I mentioned this last week, we’ve been lucky at times this season because other teams are getting chances but not taking them. It’s partly luck and partly the pressure opponents are under. Chances are few and far between against us so when they come there’s a greater pressure to convert. Martial buries that more often than not.
That being said, we miss plenty of chances ourselves. The number of close games we’ve had this season is mainly due to an inability to kill teams off when we’re on top. It’s the one weakness we have. We’ve been wasteful on too many occasions. Frankly it was ridiculous that United were still in with a shout late on in this game.
The start we made to the second half was blistering and should have been enough to blow them away. No-one can live with us when we do that and it’s a miracle United managed to survive that spell.
Salah missed a sitter when he failed to convert a Robertson cross. Mané then fired over after being brilliantly found by Firmino. Hendo was denied by an incredible save by De Gea who somehow managed to tip his shot onto the post. Sadio then got in behind them but dragged his shot just past the post. It was an incredible sequence of play but United somehow managed to weather the storm.
Klopp made his first chance when he sent on Lallana for Ox. I thought Ox had been decent without ever really making that much of a mark on the game. Lallana never got going though. He fell over the first time he got the ball and it took him a while to get with the pace of the game. Origi and Fabinho both came on late, replacing Mané and Bobby.
Those changes were a response to the way the game had gone and the fact we were now on the back foot protecting a one goal lead. We’ve seen that before, with Mo sent through the middle for the counter attacking threat. It works well because we defend so resolutely and because Virgil seems to head away every ball that comes into the box.
He won header after header and that’s the main difference between us now and us a few years ago when we would so often find it difficult to hold onto leads. Teams would just keep putting it in the mixer and eventually it would pay off. Now they do it and Van Dijk just heads it straight back out. Every. Time.
He was imperious and I’m not going to argue with anyone who had him as man of the match. He wasn’t my choice, but he was flawless. Hendo got the award on Sky but he wasn’t my choice either, although it was a toss up between him and Wijnaldum.
Gini gets it for me because in these big games he just nips off into the phonebox and changes into his Superman costume. In these high profile games he seems to become stronger, quicker and more skilful. It’s amazing to see and that’s why he just shades it for me.
Robbo deserves a mention too just for the sheer amount of running he did. He was up and down the flank all day, whereas on the opposite side Trent was not the factor he normally would be. United clearly decided they were going to remove that threat and they packed that side of the field with two left backs and also had Martial hugging the left flank.
Salah’s performance was the most interesting talking point I think. My feeling while watching the game was that once again he was having a stinker against United. On reflection, I completely over-stated that as he was a constant danger. Not everything he tried came off but he did create chances for others and he deserved his goal at the end just for his sheer persistence.
It’s disappointing that once again we didn’t give them the beating they deserve but I’m not blaming anybody. It’s just one of those things. The ball didn’t break for us on the day and they rode their luck. If the second goal had come in the first hour, more would have followed. It didn’t come, and just like last week at Spurs it then becomes edgy. Not because of anything we’re doing, but just because the situation is precarious and the opponent then has to come out and have a go in the last 15 minutes.
It’s happened loads of times this season but we defend really well and it’s not like we ever look as though we’re hanging on. There’s always the risk that they’ll get a flukey goal or someone will hammer one in from 30 yards though, so it makes for a stressful ending to the game.
It felt edgy at the time but watching it back again United created virtually nothing late on despite dominating possession. We had them at arm’s length and wasted a couple of very good opportunities to kill them on the break. Eventually we got them though with the last kick of the game. What a moment that was.
The more pragmatic thing for Alisson to have done once he claimed the ball was to keep hold of it and waste time. There were only seconds left after all. It just shows how alert he is though that he knew they’d thrown everyone forward and that Mo was all alone. It was the smart move to leather the ball up to him because even if it didn’t lead to a goal, the ball was going to end up deep in United’s half anyway.
It did lead to a goal though. An iconic, live long in the memory type of goal. A David Ngog if you will. Ok, forget that, this was way more iconic than Ngog’s goal but it was similar in the way it was taken and the celebrations that followed.
Credit to Salah because it was brilliantly taken. That really wasn’t easy because as good as the pass from Alisson was, Mo had to wait a second before gathering it and that slowed him down long enough to allow the lightning quick Dan James to get back at him. The way Mo just held him off and prevented him getting close enough to make a challenge was superb.
The finish itself wasn’t great and I thought De Gea should have saved it, but everything else about that goal was glorious, including the celebration. Off came the shirt and out came the abs. As a rule, I’m not one for condoning the shirt off celebration as it just means a needless booking that might prove costly somewhere down the line. When it’s a last second goal at the Kop end against United though, then all bets are off. He could have taken his shorts off as well if he’d wanted and he’d get no criticism from me.
It was funny seeing Alisson doing a Pepe Reina and arriving first on the scene for the celebrations. It’s even funnier when you watch the replay of him running and realise he wasn’t actually moving that fast, it’s just that everyone else was too exhausted to be arsed running to Mo. Alisson is gesturing “come on!” at them all as he runs past, and they’re all just standing around like “nah you’re alright, lad. We’re fucked”.
Eventually I think he shamed them all into joining in. I looked at the rest of the players and a lot of them were seriously considering just staying in their own half as they were out on their feet. In the end they ambled over to join in at their own leisure.
I’m running out of things to say about this season we’re having. The points total, the records being broken and the historic stuff we’re seeing. We’re almost over the line and it’s only January. It’s unprecedented what we’re seeing and it’s not about if we win the title now, it’s only a case of when we win it.
The questions still to be answered are whether we can break the record for the most points and if we could go undefeated. I’m not thinking about either of those as there are so many games still to be played, and next up for us is the toughest fixture we have left.
Yes, I’m saying Wolves away is a more difficult game for us than a trip to the Etihad. We know how to play against City and they fear us. Wolves don’t fear us and they’ll still be steaming about the perceived injustice they feel about their recent loss at Anfield. They’re a tough nut to crack when they face the better sides because it suits their counter attacking style.
It’s a tough game and to me it’s the biggest threat remaining to our unbeaten record. The good thing is that it’s a Thursday so we have an extra day to prepare for it and we should be at full strength. I’m looking forward to it but I have more trepidation about this game than I’ve had all season.
On a final note, I want to mention the atmosphere. It was great. The Kop was loud all day and I can only remember hearing the United fans once or twice all day. I could see from my seat that they were signing and making noise, but I genuinely couldn’t hear them because the noise from our crowd drowned them out.
I think the new Main Stand may have changed the acoustics of the stadium too because I used to always be able to hear the away fans and what they were singing, but often this season I’ve barely heard a peep. The main reason though is the noise from our fans has increased. In some of the quieter games you can hear the away fans, but in the two games against United and Everton I’ve barely heard a peep.
I can imagine the Mancs went through their full repertoire of scummy chants, but the only things I heard all day was “United” and “Always the victims”. The rest of their shite was completely drowned out by the Kop. Actually wait, I tell a lie. I did hear them giving it the “where’s your famous atmosphere” at one point, which is right up there with Solskjaer and his “they don’t carve you open”.
It’s great, they’re completely deluded and have no idea just how far away they are from where they were. We’re back on our perch and there’s fuck all they can do about it now.
Team: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, Van Dijk, Robertson; Henderson, Wijnaldum, Oxlade-Chamberlain (Lallana); Salah, Firmino (Origi), Mané (Fabinho):
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