MANCHESTER UNITED 2-2 LIVERPOOL: Jurgen Klopp’s men will view this as two points dropped despite Mohamed Salah’s late penalty sparing their blushes at Old Trafford

Liverpool couldn’t get the better of Manchester United and were held to a 2-2 draw at Old Trafford that prevents them from going top.

Alejandro Garnacho had the ball in the back of the net inside the opening two minutes, but his goal was chalked off after the linesman’s flag cut celebrations short.

Andre Onana’s smart save ensured Dominik Szoboszlai didn’t fire Liverpool in front soon after.

Liverpool weren’t clinical enough against Man Utd

22 minutes in and the Reds did take the lead, silencing the Stretford End in the process. Darwin Nunez’s flick on from Andy Robertson’s corner was met by Luis Diaz, who made no mistake from close range to put Liverpool in front. The defending on display will undoubtedly concern Erik ten Hag.

United ended the first half without a single of shot on goal, yet their first attempt of the game was quite something. Jarell Quansah’s sloppy backpass was intercepted by Bruno Fernandes, who arrowed a strike beyond Caoimhín Kelleher from the best part of about 45 yards out.

The fact that Fernandes’ strike wasn’t even the best of the game is the best review of Kobbie Mainoo’s goal to make it 2-1. There were shades of Federico Macheda’s famous strike against Aston Villa, with United’s latest boy wonder sending the home fans wild.

And yet, there was more drama still to come. Mohamed Salah’s penalty restored a point for Liverpool after Aaron Wan-Bissaka clumsily brought down Harvey Elliot inside the area.

Mirror Football has analysed five talking points from a thrilling clash between two Premier League titans at Old Trafford.

Mainoo’s magic moment

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Kobbie Mainoo netted a wondergoal for Man Utd’s second (
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When discussing the positions being taken up by Kobbie Mainoo, United legend Gary Neville suggested it “defied logic and the basics of the game.”

While it may not actually be the fault of United’s teen sensation, given there’s every chance he was simply following Ten Hag’s instructions, it is a damning indictment of how the Red Devils midfield fared against their Liverpool counterparts early on.

BUT, if the first half was one to forget for the teen sensation, his finest United moment yet awaited him after the interval. With just over 20 minutes still to play, Mainoo flipped the game on its head with an absolutely jaw-dropping curler that found its way into the back of the net.

Neville’s claim that it is “so easy to play against Manchester United’s midfield” may be true, but with moments like that up their sleeve, they are always a threat.

Salah strikes again

Mohamed Salah netted from the spot to level things up
How sick United must be of the sight of Salah? Liverpool’s talisman has scored more goals in this fixture than any other and did so again on Sunday.

Salah showed the kind of calmness you’d expect from a player of his calibre to step up and send Andre Onana the wrong way from the penalty spot. It means he is the player with the most goals against United in Premier League history with 11, though he now has 14 against them in all competitions.

Klopp often turns his back when Liverpool win a penalty, but the German refused to look away, suggesting he knew that his star man wouldn’t crumble under the pressure. Salah missed a penalty at home to Arsenal in a similar situation last term, but looked like the coolest man in the stadium this time around.

Liverpool’s wastefulness

Liverpool should have been out of sight had it not been for some poor finishing
If Liverpool are going to win this title, they may want to start taking more of their chances. Klopp cut an increasingly frustrated figure in the technical area watching his forwards spurn multiple opportunities.

Salah was guilty of a few wayward finishes in the first-half, before Nunez opted against cutting it back for what would have been a tap-in for Szoboszlai, much to the dismay of Jamie Carragher on commentary duty.

There were shades of the FA Cup tie in the way Liverpool enjoyed the overwhelming majority of attacking pressure, only for United to strike back and leave the Reds stunned.

Rashford fails to meet Ten Hag demand

Marcus Rashford failed to have much of an influence on proceedings before coming off with an injury

Ahead of kick-off, Ten Hag shed light on why he recalled Rashford to the starting line-up after dropping him to the bench on Thursday night.

“Today, Rashford has to show it, especially against Liverpool,” the Dutchman explained. “That’s a game for him. He is one of our leaders and he should have a big impact today.”

Up against a Conor Bradley that was shown a yellow card five minutes in, Rashford really should have given the young Liverpool full-back more of a headache. Instead, the England international was a passenger for large portions of this contest.

The first half passed him by, much like it did every United attacker. The second half saw a few inviting crosses, but nothing to write home about. Rashford was withdrawn in place of Antony just after the hour mark with an injury, failing to have the “big impact” that was asked of him.

United’s slowest start for nine years

United went the entire first half without a shot on goal
For the first time since October 2015, United ended the first 45 minutes without mustering a single shot on Liverpool’s goal. It is a statistic that highlights just how blunt the host’s attack was early on.

Things weren’t much better from a defensive perspective, Just how was meant to be picking up either of Darwin Nunez and Diaz from Robertson’s corner remains unclear, but the fact that both were given enough time and space to put the visitors in front will undoubtedly irk Ten Hag.

Nunez darted away into a clear space within the penalty area, before glancing his header into the direction of an unmarked Diaz. The Colombian ace is far too gifted to be given such time and space and he did what is expected of him, lashing beyond Onana.

In games of this magnitude where even the slightest of errors can prove costly, United will be kicking themselves that they switched off enough to allow two Liverpool attackers the room to cause chaos inside their own penalty area, especially from a set-piece situation.

What this means for the title race

Liverpool will view it as two points dropped
Everyone associated with both Arsenal and Manchester City are likely to have been watching, hoping and praying for a Liverpool slip-up to boost their own title hopes.

It’s not often you’ll see fans of the Gunners and Pep Guardiola’s side willing United on to win, but such is the nature of this season’s enthralling title race, rivals need rivals to drop points by any means necessary – even if it is at the hands of other rivals.

Therefore, the Red Devils will be the toast of the blue half of Manchester and the red half of north London on Sunday night. Drawing with United means Liverpool remain second, level on points with table-toppers Arsenal though they have a significantly inferior goal difference.

There will be plenty more thrills and spills before the campaign’s conclusion, but Klopp knows that result could prove costly.