Manchester United vs Liverpool | 5 Things That Went Wrong for United

This season’s first Manchester United vs Liverpool game ended in a humiliating 5-0 defeat for the Red Devils at the hands of their arch-rivals. The Merseysiders ran riot at Old Trafford as Mo Salah scored a devastating hattrick while Naby Keita and Diogo Jota scored one goal each.

Mohammed Salah, Manchester United vs Liverpool — Image obtained via Eurosport

Ole was already under a lot of criticism for the lack of results, but this result tipped the patience of the supporters over the boiling point. It has also put Ole’s position as manager under threat, and the Norwegian boss needs to find some solution to save his job. Let’s look at five things from the Manchester United vs Liverpool game that went wrong for Ole and his men.

McFred Yet Again

Despite recent performances, Solskjaer, yet again, decided to go with his favoured midfield duo of Scott McTominay and Fred, keeping Paul Pogba on the bench. He knew the importance of the Manchester United vs Liverpool game, presently and historically, but still went ahead with them.

Fred, Mo Salah, Scot McTominay, Manchester United vs Liverpool — Image obtained via Rte

The decision proved fatal as the Merseysiders picked spaces right under their noses and the two central midfielders were left in the dust. In fact, Roberto Firmino successfully got behind Scott and Fred several times by finding pockets of spaces and opening up United.

Broken Pressing

United failed to implement a proper pressing game. Despite lacking necessary players and tactics, Ole decided to play a high pressing game against one of the most stable and threatening teams in the Premier League, leaving gaping holes at the back. They lacked a proper setup and looked like a very disjointed team throughout the game, failing to move quickly on the ball.

United were up against the best player in the Premier League, Mohamed Salah, but that shouldn’t be an excuse for conceding such an easy treble. Liverpool’s opening goal, where Salah teed up the ball to Keita, was far too easy and a massive blunder by Maguire and Shaw gifted the opponents the opportunity to double their lead shortly after.

Benching Paul Pogba

Ole’s decision to bench Paul Pogba in the Manchester United vs Liverpool game raised many eyebrows, and rightly so. The Frenchman recently gave a blistering performance during the 3-2 win against Atalanta after coming off the bench, completely transforming the game and leading the team to an exciting win against the Italian side.

Paul Pogba, Manchester United vs Liverpool — (Photo by LAURENCE GRIFFITHS/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Without Pogba, the team lacked any flair or tempo and failed to break Liverpool’s press. They left huge gaps and empty pocket spaces all over the midfield area, granting the opponents access to exploit them easily. Had he been on the starting team, Pogba certainly could have offered some attacking threat.

Although he came on after halftime, the damage was already done with Liverpool blasting 4 goals before the break. Moreover, the Frenchman lasted only around 15 minutes before being sent off for attempting a wild lunge on Keita to win the ball.

Tactical Setup

Ole set up the team in a 4-2-3-1 formation, but as the game played out, it turned into a 4-2-4 formation with Fred and McTominay alone in the midfield area. United’s forwards barely came down and were very ineffective in their defensive game. Solskjaer should’ve played with a back three or a 5-2-3 formation with wing-backs pressing high up the pitch.

Instead, the Norwegian boss panned out a narrow back four which failed to cope up with Salah, Jota, Firmino and the wing-backs, leaving plenty of space to operate. United had no proper structure or shape defensively and simply handed the Merseysiders an easy opportunity to win the game.

Selecting Wrong Players

A game like Manchester United vs Liverpool is not one where you gamble and take risks by not playing your best XI. Besides the structural problems and wrong game plan, Ole made errors in picking his players as well and this proved to be a nightmare for the team and fans alike.

Ole’s decision to play a high-pressing game with the likes of Ronaldo, Greenwood, and Rashford upfront was simply foolish and not a well thought out plan as the trio failed to contribute anything effective defensively. The boss should’ve opted to start with Cavani up front, who has a high work rate and would have provided some pressing threat to keep the defensive lines busy. Moreover, his decision to sit out Pogba and play the McFred duo proved fatal as well.

The loss in the Manchester United vs Liverpool has piled more pressure on Ole, who is on the brink of being sacked if he fails to deliver a good performance in the next few games. How long do you think Ole’s has before the United board decide to sack him?

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