Manchester United

[dom9]

The club and their manager are not a good combination in my opinion.

Mourinho did today what Mourinho does. From the first minute United did everything to disrupt the game. Including Rashford's very meditated foul on Milner in the first minute (our united supporting commentator couldn't resist the rash pun, but he couldn't have been more wrong).

Could you imagine a Ferguson team coming to Anfield of any place on this planet, and waging anything other than complete war?

Course not. There's a reason why so few meetings between Liverpool and Manchester United are draws, let alone goalless. It's a blood thirsty all out war. A battle. A win at all costs mentality.

But Mourinho does what he does.

LFC went to Barcelona a couple of times in the past 15 years. Started as underdogs. Clear underdogs. What can you do? Kill the game. Hope for a break. It worked. We did a job. Got a result. The best we could have hoped for.

This is what United are reducing themselves to. Kill the game. Hope for the best. Retreat, retreat, retreat, counter.

How long will their supporters accept this?

Who knows.

[G]

Long enough for them to end up in the wilderness for years and years hopefully.

[dom9]

Yup.

I'd be surprised if it ends well at all.

[EwarWoo]

Celebrating a point against a better side won with negative tactics. I think they've fallen pretty far already.

[RichC]

I see Mourinho is being hailed as a tactical genius by some of the press, the same press giving LVG pelters for playing exactly the same way. After all the money spent on that side over the past few seasons their best player and by some distance is their keeper.

I am so pleased we never ended up with Mourinho as our manager everything is always about him be it the football or his awful behaviour off it.

[McDermotX]

[McDermotX]

The world's most expensive player ladies and gentlemen

* Thanks to Manchester United having a piffling 35% possession and Paul Pogba playing higher up the pitch, the world’s most expensive player attempted just 38 passes on Monday night. That is way down on his season average of 66 and was less than – deep breath – Loris Karius, Joel Matip, Dejan Lovren, James Milner, Philippe Coutinho, Emre Can, Jordan Henderson, Roberto Firmino, Marouane Fellaini and Ander Herrera at Anfield. Yes, Paul Pogba passed the ball fewer times than the Liverpool goalkeeper at Anfield.



* His woeful pass completion rate of 71.1% was worse than every single player on the pitch barring Daley Blind and Roberto Firmino. And yes, we are including goalkeepers. His average for the season is 82.8%.



* He had just 63 touches of the ball at Anfield. For context, James Milner had 74 and he was a) at left-back and b) substituted. Pogba’s average for the season is 89.



* The combative Pogba won just 46% of his duels at Anfield. He attempted just two tackles and was successful once – in the 89th minute. It’s the first time he has lost more duels than he has won in a Premier League game.



* He has had one shot on target in his last two Premier League games. He has averaged 0.7 shots on target per Premier League game this season. That’s less than Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Juan Mata and Wayne Rooney. That record puts him joint 54th in the Premier League alongside Cristhian Stuani, Daniel Sturridge, Arouna Kone and Nolito, amongst others.



* Pogba created one chance against Liverpool – though it was the header that should have been scored by Zlatan Ibrahimovic. He has averaged 1.7 key passes per game in the Premier League this season. That puts him joint 24th in the division along with Liverpool’s Georginio Wijnaldum, who has two assists to Pogba’s zero so far this season.



* Pogba had one touch in Liverpool’s box on Monday night. And it was an offside pass right at the edge of the box. Both Liverpool’s full-backs managed two touches in the opposition area. No wonder Jose Mourinho said: “Where Pogba was playing, I was expecting more penetration.”

[fidget]

Disgrace that united only get one point - the zlatan non goal should get them a bonus.
It's only fair.

[BigChief]

Disgrace that united only get one point - the zlatan non goal should get them a bonus.
It's only fair.

I have never seen so many Utd fans hail one half of slightly more dominating football (even though it was just 25 minutes) and one missed header as the sign of good times to come.

I honestly don't remember us falling this far this quickly when we lost our aura. And I was the same age as the common Utd fan is now.

[Fivex]

What age is the common Utd fan out of interest?

[dom9]

12?

[Fredo]

I see Mourinho is being hailed as a tactical genius by some of the press, the same press giving LVG pelters for playing exactly the same way. After all the money spent on that side over the past few seasons their best player and by some distance is their keeper.

I am so pleased we never ended up with Mourinho as our manager everything is always about him be it the football or his awful behaviour off it.

At least Van Gaal liked to control the play through measured possession. They starved us of the ball IIRC in the corresponding game last season.

[Le Chef]

Duncan Castles hailing it as a Klopp failure and a Jose takedown.

What a ****ing whopper

[dww]

I think a lot of the press are caught up in reacting to one another and not analysing either games of the bigger picture. We have been over hyped so far this season.

I think a draw is a poor result for both teams. It's going to be hyper competitive to get fourth (I think Spurs, Arsenal and City were better that the rest of the league at the end of last season and have all strengthened so will sew up the top three). The key differences being that United didn't offer any evidence of the willingness or ability to create wins which we did and we are and have been far more entertaining this season.

[ChesterDave]

A 4-1 thrashing of the team currently in 9th place in the 10th best European league.

THEY'RE BACK!