5 Talking points from Manchester United 2-2 Liverpool
The Premier League season of 2023/24 will be remembered for its competitiveness and interest, possibly as one of the most intriguing seasons in the last twenty years.
Manchester City and Arsenal won their matches against Crystal Palace and Brighton respectively, which put Liverpool under pressure to win their game against Manchester United at Old Trafford. Manchester United felt confident having won the FA Cup match against Liverpool earlier.
However, things have changed since the Cup game. Liverpool has not lost a single league game, while United has failed to win their last two games against Brentford and Chelsea.
This season, Manchester City, Liverpool, and Arsenal are all strong contenders for the title. Manchester City looks to win the trophy for the fourth consecutive season, while Liverpool aims to give Jurgen Klopp a perfect send-off. Arsenal, the third favorite, has not won the league since their unbeaten run during the 2003/04 football season.
Here are the five key talking points from the game;
(1) Andre Onana
The Cameroonian international is one of the positives for Manchester United despite the poor run of his team. He has been able to make a lot of saves in football matches which has helped reduce the goals conceded by the Red Devils this season. The saves he made earlier in the game kept his team in the game going into the second half.
Onana has the highest number of clean sheets despite having faced the most shots in the Premier League this season (2023/24).
(2) Bruno Fernandes:
Just like Onana, the Portuguese international has been able to show the class he is made of whenever the Red Devils are down and out. The midfielder scored an unexpected goal in the second half of the game which gave life to United’s quest of finishing in a UEFA Champions League spot.
(3) Kobbie Mainoo:
The young midfielder has been sensational for the Red Devils since he broke into the first team. He repaid Erik Ten Hag’s belief in him by scoring an amazing goal, which put them ahead in the game before Mohamed Salah scored the equalising goal to share the spoils between both sides.
(4) Champions League Spot:
The Red Devils’ chances of qualifying for the UEFA Champions League suffered a big blow after picking just two points of a possible nine points that were available to them. This result against Liverpool leaves Manchester United in sixth position with 49 points.
(5) Premier League title:
The title race has been thrown open again with seven games until the end of the season. Liverpool were at the top of the league before the game at Old Trafford. However, the draw against Manchester United has placed them in second place behind Arsenal on goal difference.
