Manchester United have done it – Liverpool are out of the FA Cup. The Red Devils have hosted champions of England in the fourth round clash just week after their 0-0 draw at Anfield in the Premier League. And this time they came out on top. Man United won 3-2 with goals from Mason Greenwood, Marcus Rashford and Bruno Fernandes, to seal a big victory despite Mohamed Salah’s two goals he scored for the first time at Old Trafford since 2012 and the Olympic Games.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side managed to keep their expectations high ahead of this match, to change things around in the starting lineup and still beat Jurgen Klopp’s side, to pile on their misery.
Manchester United Keep Going
Manchester United just keep going these days. Ever since that 3-2 loss in Germany to RB Leipzig, they seem different team. There have been 13 matches since and only once did United lose, to Man City in the League Cup semifinal. Everything else have been wins and some tough draws, like the goalless ones against City and Liverpool in the league. This time, the Devils managed to get back from behind and keep going, doing their thing and making the most of the chances that presented themselves on the night.
United’s Left Flank Shines
It was a big win for Man United which was in a big way helped by the fact Man United’s left flank shined throughout. After being put on the right flank on several occasions in recent weeks, Marcus Rashford this time finally got the chance to play in his favourite left-wing position, ahead of Luke Shaw. And both of them were brilliant. Rashford’s both the assist for Mason Greenwood and his goal itself were brilliant, while Luke Shaw looked like the player everyone expected him to become five or six years ago. The way Shaw is playing these days, there is no way Alex Telles will become the starting left-back and that is fine. Let’s just hope Shaw will remain healthy in the future.
Liverpool Defence All Over The Place
This match was an incredible case of how unbalanced Liverpool were. Attacking-wise, Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino were dangerous in attack, but defensively, Liverpool were all over the place. If you were to only see the goals from Rashford and Greenwood, which came from United’s players’ brilliance, but also Liverpool’s chaotic defending, you would see everything you need to know. Andy Robertson looks like a shadow of his former self, while Rhys Williams is simply not good enough of a solution. Klopp must be fuming Liverpool did not get him another centre-back during January transfer window…
There Is No One Like Bruno Fernandes
And what can we say about this man that we already did not say? There is simply not much left to say, as we have been praising Bruno Fernandes for a year now. The Portuguese maestro struck the winner for United from a close-range free-kick which made Allison look naive, with the shot going to his side of the goal, not above the wall. In fact, since Bruno Fernandes arrived in England, he has been involved in 45 goals in all competitions with 28 goals and 17 assists. The first player behind him is Harry Kane with 40 goal involvements. After Kane, not one player is above 34 goal involvements. And that says a lot about Bruno…
Leave a Reply