Staff Takeaways: Manchester United 3-2 Liverpool

Here are our staff takeaways after a nice win over an old rival to secure European football next season.

Vince Roseta: The formation was the key

Manchester United didn’t try to outplay Liverpool by dominating the ball, rather they sat in a compact shape, stayed organized. The 4-2-3-1 shape, got Liverpools fullbacks on an island and once possession was turned over, United quickly progressed upfield taking advantage of Liverpools island of fullbacks.

Kobbie Mainoo proved he is worth the investment of the new contract from earlier this week. He wasn’t just solid in midfield but always seemed to make the right choice when things got chaotic, especially after Liverpool pulled it back to 2-2.

Then when the game needed someone to step up, he delivered with that late winner, striking from the edge of the box and completely flipping the momentum back to United and getting us back into the Champions League.

Suwaid Fazal: Mainoo’s Goal was a perfect summation of Michael Carrick’s Stint

Michael Carrick’s tenure has been characterised by late goals that secure the team’s victory and the empowerment of players. Kobbie Mainoo’s 77th-minute winner, a placed finish from outside the box, was a fitting moment to capture just that. Although there was still some time before the final whistle, there was a sense that Mainoo’s goal was going to be the difference, and Liverpool didn’t really threaten in the final minutes to confirm this feeling.

Kobbie Mainoo’s resurgence has been one of the stories of the season since Michael Carrick’s arrival as well, and it was only right that he scored the winner against rivals Liverpool to complete the job Michael Carrick was tasked with in January: Champions League qualification.

Colin Damms: Bad Form, Good Drama

Manchester United came out of the locker room for the second half, pointed a double-barreled shotgun at both feet and pulled the trigger. Liverpool got 0.51 of its 0.88 xG from two misplaced passes by Amad and Senne Lammens , respectively, with just three shots on target otherwise from 63% possession.

It wasn’t pretty, but it gave the game a finish worthy of the club’s history. Kobbie Mainoo’s goal gets to live forever in the “late winners” compilations (even though there was still about 20 minutes of regulation + stoppage time left).

We can’t help but feel there was something left out there. After some bad recent losses to the old rivals from down the road, it would have felt great to give them a thumping of 4-0, 5-0, or more. Maybe it says something more that United were able to get out of a mess that they created, but regardless, all that was needed was the three points. We got that and more with a vindicating moment for Kobbie Mainoo and another win over a peer at the top of the table.