Man Utd stun Liverpool as Reds slump to fourth straight defeat - 5 talking points
LIVERPOOL 1-2 MANCHESTER UNITED: Harry Maguire headed home United's late winner as the champions were stunned at Anfield and slipped to a fourth straight loss
Harry Maguire deepened the sense of gloom around Liverpool as Manchester United condemned the reigning champions to a fourth straight defeat in all competitions.
Defender Maguire headed home the winner from a Bruno Fernandes cross six minutes from the end of a frenetic game at Anfield, as United won at the home of their rivals for the first time since 2016.
United took the lead after just 63 seconds as the hosts, who had wanted the game stopped for a head injury to Alexis Mac Allister, allowed Bryan Mbeumo to run in behind their defence and beat Giorgi Mamardashvili with ease.
A rattled Liverpool often struggled to find cohesion after such an early blow, but Cody Gakpo struck the woodwork twice before Fernandes shaved the post at the other end as United pressed for a second.
Liverpool would turn the screw in the second half though, and after Gakpo hit the post again and Mo Salah missed a glorious chance, substitute Federico Chiesa crossed for Gakpo to turn home from close range.
That had seemed set to start a Liverpool onslaught, but Fernandes crossed for Maguire to plant home a header in front of the delirious travelling fans. Here are the game's main talking points.
1. Straight into the controversy
It was never going to be quiet, but we didn't expect it to be quite so loud quite so soon. Less than a minute was on the clock when Virgil van Dijk, Mbeumo and Mac Allister all went up together, with the Argentina international clearly coming off the worst.
Liverpool's No.10 was still prone on the turf as Amad Diallo played the ball forward towards a roaming Mbeumo, and there did appear to a moment Van Dijk expected the game to halt as you'd usually expect in this situation. But it didn't.
Mbeumo ran on and tucked his shot past Mamardashvili, who should have done better, and United were free to celebrate a goal that verged on the bizarre.
Were Liverpool guilty of not playing, or fully concentrating, to the whistle? Perhaps, but it wasn't as if they had safe possession when Mac Allister - who would need a scrum cap after treatment - had received the blow from his captain. Games usually stop in those circumstances.
2. Manchester United come to play
We know what the formation will be obviously, but who is playing in the positions can make all the difference. Ruben Amorim's famed 3-4-3 here included Amad at right wing-back and Fernandes getting forward whenever he could from midfield.
Against a disjointed Liverpool in the first half, it worked. Yes they were fortunate not to concede - particularly to the flowing move which ended with Gakpo hitting the post, something he then did again with a cross that was deflected.
It was clear that Amorim had, rightly decided to target Liverpool left-back Milos Kerkez through Amad and Mbeumo, and United could easily have grabbed a second goal when they were on top, with Fernandes going closest when he shaved the post.
3. Liverpool have attacking struggles
Liverpool weren't functioning as well as we know they can do in attack, but it is also true to say that they were very unlucky in front of goal. Gakpo in particular was incredibly luckless, hitting the post three times by the start of the second half, before his goal and then a shocking miss late on.
The third shot against the woodwork, a wonderful effort on the turn, seemed to act as the trigger for an attacking onslaught in the second half, with the Reds picking it up a gear and pushing an increasingly passive United side back.
That led to a huge call from Arne Slot as he introduced Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike while leaving Mo Salah, Alexander Isak and Gakpo on the pitch. He was going for broke. It didn't work. He would later take Isak and Salah off after another disappointing outing for both.
4. Matheus Cunha stands up tall
United might have struggled to get a foothold as an attacking force while Liverpool turned the screw, but one player who didn't shirk anything was Matheus Cunha.
After starting as the central attacker, the Brazilian held the ball up well and at one point it was appearing to stick to him. He then dropped deeper with the introduction of Benjamin Sesko for Mason Mount, and he was involved in everything United did well from there too. He looks exactly the type of signing the club needed.
5. Four defeats in a row for Liverpool, and this one hurts the most
So that's four defeats in a row for Liverpool, and this would have been the most painful.
The Reds' season is danger of unravelling after his latest loss, and not only because it has come to their biggest rivals.
Cracks could have been papered over with a point here, but there is a vulnerability about the champions that teams are exploiting on a regular basis, and United did that with aplomb here.
This result could act as a lift-off moment for Amorim and his side, who rode their luck at times but turned in the kid of committed display that has so often been lacking.
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