Key events
70 min Klopp is unhappy about something. It may be a first-world problem.
68 min Liverpool’s possession has gone from 57pc to 62. Erik ten Hag needs to do something, and he has two subs lined up – but I’m not sure the answer to his problem is Harry Maguire and Antony.
67 min As Szoboszlai makes a menacing run, Mainoo gets a vital tackle in.
65 min Diaz goes on a run, from the left into the middle, and tees up Salah, whose shot is tame by his standards.
65 min Liverpool keep the ball for a bit, allowing the game to slow down a little. They are winning the midfield now.
63 min Soon enough, Nunez has a blast at the near post, forcing Onana to concede a corner, whereupon Diaz has a shot that’s blocked.
62 min Two minutes pass without a shot. What’s up?
60 min As the hour glass fills up, Gomez goes into the book for jumping onto Wan-Bissaka’s head.
59 min Liverpool take a few weeks over the free kick and then Mac Allister’s shot is over the bar.
58 min Fernandes is penalised for a foul on Szoboszlai, but it was 50-50. And the ref doesn’t reach for a card, which is lucky for Fernandes as he’s had one already. Rough justice, perhaps. He’ll probably get another one soon enough for dissent.
57 min The early sunshine has turned to drizzle. That’s more like it, Manchester.
55 min Someone on the Liverpool left, Diaz I think, cuts in and shoots just wide. Then in the inside-right zone, Szoboszlai shoots and Onana turns it round the post. He has too much time, Lee Dixon reckons.
54 min Rashford sets Fernandes free on the left. He shoots with the outside of the right foot, hitting it well but wide, possibly with a deflection.
52 min McTominay’s cross from the right bothers Kelelher, who drops it, but no United forward is close enough to cash in the way Salah did.
51 min Liverpool counter the counter and they’re four on three. Salah is this close to slipping Nunez in, but Varane gets a toe in.
49 min United counter with Garnacho on the left. He tries to slip a through ball to Højlund, but Van Dijk reads it supremely well. Haaland, Højlund, they’re all the same to him.
49 min Szoboszlai has a shot from the D, blocked by Varane.
48 min Nunez tests Onana from the tightest of angles, forcing Onana to squirt the ball behind for a corner. Again, nothing comes of it.
46 min As Liverpool kick off. Erik ten Hag tries to rouse the crowd. Rashford again gets down the left, feeding Wan-Bissaka, who wins a corner, but nothing comes of it.
Replay time. United goal: the long ball to Rashford that set up the move was a free kick, taken quickly by Fernandes as a few Liverpool players argued with the ref. Mac Allister goal: Quansah’s fine run was partly enabled by Rashford, who let him go dancing past. (Rashford has been shy of getting stuck in ever since Kieran Trippier gave him a back injury going for a 50-50, about two years ago now.) Salah goal: Fernandes fell on the ball on the United left, angling for a free kick that never came. He ended up with a yellow card, presumably for protesting too much. So Liverpool are well on the way to the 3-1 or 4-1 that always seemed to be on the cards here. But United have played well, apart from those fatal five minutes.
“I would hazard a guess,” says Andy Flintoff, “that the demise of the utility player has been hastened by the increase in the size of squads and the number of substitutions allowed. When it was one or two subs named, then having one player who could cover any position across the defence or midfield (like, for instance, Steve Nicol) would be very useful, but being able to name five (or more), means you can essentially fill the bench with specialists, and still have sufficient cover for injuries and plenty of options to change the game.” True.
“Paul Madeley,” said Mark Hooper, a while ago. That’s more like it. “Pretty sure John O’Shea played EVERY position one season – including goalie – didn’t he? I definitely remember mapping it out with a friend.” The kind of friend we all need.
For 43 minutes, United were the better team. But Liverpool were dominating possession and eventually their greater cohesion prevailed. If Mac Allister had some luck with his goal, Salah didn’t need any for his. He has now scored 13 times against United, in 14 games. The man is a machine.
HALF-TIME! United 1-2 Liverpool
Liverpool, bloody hell.
GOAL! United 1-2 Liverpool (Salah 45+3)
Nunez shoots, Onana saves, but the ball falls kindly for Salah and United’s nemesis strikes again. VAR is on the case, though, checking about four different things but the goal stands.
44 min Mac Allister hit the ball well and benefited from two things: a deflection off Mainoo that gave Onana no chance, and a fine run by Quansah, who ventured into the area and found Nunez. His lay-off was a simple one and Mac Allister did the rest. It’s been coming.
GOAL! Man United 1-1 Liverpool (Mac Allister 44)
All square!
40 min As Salah plays a nice cross from the right, the flag goes up again. Liverpool are dominating the ball now, 57-43, but of the ten shots on target so far, seven have come from United.
No goal! Still Man United 1-0 Liverpool
I take it back,. the linesman was spot-on. Salah’s chest was offside.
Goal disallowed! For Liverpool… but it may be given
Endo finds the net with a neat finish. The linesman flags for offside against Salah, but the VAR may not agree.
37 min Back at Old Trafford, United get forward fast again and Fernandes has a long shot on target. When they come again with Mainoo on the dancefloor, Rashford plays a cutback to McTominay, who should have a second but goes straight at the keeper. And then Diaz brings a fine save out of Onana.
35 min That game has finally come to an end, at 1-1, so United have had a good weekend in the league without playing – Spurs dropped three points, Villa two.
34 min Meanwhile, in the league, West Ham and Aston Villa are still playing in the 103rd minute. It’s 1-1.
33 min Corner to Liverpool, calmly headed away by McTominay.
31 min Szoboszlai has a shot, easily saved by Onana, who has been authoritative so far. McTominay breaks and gets fouled by Mac Allister, who goes into the book. From the free kick, Varane has a free header but the ball is slightly behind him and his header is a looping one.
30 min As the half-hour mark arrives, United are still looking up for it. Varane is the latest player to go long to Rashford – too long, as the ball goes out. Rashford, who sometimes throws his arms up in the air at these moments, gives him a thumbs-up.
28 min United counter as Mainoo picks a pocket or two. Garnacho slips in Højlund, who slips, literally, in the box.
27 min Varane heads clear, Liverpool come again but the offside flag goes up.
