Well that was bloody intense, wasn’t it?
The twice-a-season epic clash between Manchester United and Liverpool has generally suffered from overhyping and underdelivering in recent years, as both teams and managers – okay, mostly United and Jose Mourinho – play it safe.
Saturday afternoon finally saw arguably the best back-and-forth battle since Anthony Martial marked his debut with a tremendous late winner in 2015.
After a first half that saw Marcus Rashford take full advantage of some abject Liverpool defending, the stage was set for an emphatic United victory.
Not so, as Liverpool capitalised on classic United ball-watching to quickly resemble something approaching the Harlem Globetrotters for the opening portion of the second half.
And yet the goal wouldn’t come until Eric Bailly put the ball into his own net into the 66th minute, setting up a frantic finish in which Liverpool pushed and pushed to no avail.
In the end, Liverpool had 13 corners to Man United’s one, and enjoyed 68% of the possession but couldn’t get the job done even as added time dragged into the 97th minute.
Sadly for Liverpool fans, Sky Sports pundit and local boy Jamie Carragher couldn’t make it two unlikely predictions in a row having correctly called United’s incredible 3-2 comeback win at Crystal Palace on Monday night.
https://twitter.com/Carra23/status/972463421554913281
The result keeps United in second place, five points ahead of Liverpool with eight games left to play.
Marcus Rashford was arguably the game’s big story, though, following a brilliant first half and a performance of exceptional composure and skill. Unsurprisingly, many have called for him to be a more regular fixture in the United starting XI.
Excellent win for @ManUtd and good to see the massively talented Marcus Rasford back in the starting line-up and scoring goals.
— Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker) March 10, 2018
That @MarcusRashford strike…
Us too, Jose! 😲 pic.twitter.com/t9XlVvqHpO
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) March 10, 2018
What a sensational goal that is! @MarcusRashford #MUNLIV
— Alan Shearer (@alanshearer) March 10, 2018
Marcus Rashford AGAIN!!!! Give the lad the Ballon d’Or already.
— Liam Canning (@LiamPaulCanning) March 10, 2018
"These are always big games. It's very tight battling for second position and we want to make sure we get that spot"
– @MarcusRashford #MUNLIV pic.twitter.com/jjoe32yU2N
— Premier League (@premierleague) March 10, 2018
