Red Devils earn a point after thrilling clash at Anfield
I’ll be honest—I’m not going to heap the usual praise on Mohamed Salah after this one.
Liverpool’s talisman wasn’t quite at his best today, was he? He seemed a little off compared to the standard we’ve come to expect from him. But, even on a day when he wasn’t firing on all cylinders, he still managed to make an impact. His penalty in the 70th minute looked like it would secure the win for Liverpool, but despite his efforts, it wasn’t enough to seal the three points.
That said, Salah once again etched his name into the record books. He now has 18 goals and 13 assists in just 19 Premier League appearances this season. That’s the most goal involvements by any player in their first 19 games of a Premier League campaign, surpassing Luis Suárez’s 30 in the 2013-14 season.
And the stats keep rolling in. Salah has now matched Thierry Henry’s tally of 175 Premier League goals, a remarkable feat in itself. What’s more, his 18 goals this season are already equal to the total he managed throughout the whole of last season. It’s just incredible how consistently he finds the back of the net.
Sure, we could dive into the details of both teams’ performances and what led to how they played today, but in the end, it was simply a thrilling match. I can’t remember the last time we saw two teams go toe-to-toe like that at Anfield. Now, speaking of performances, let’s talk about Trent Alexander-Arnold.
The Liverpool full-back has been brilliant under Arne Slot this season—he’s been almost faultless amid all the rumors surrounding his future. But today, he was downright poor. Everyone has off days, but the timing of his poor performance raises some concerns. It came right after the news that Real Madrid had made an approach to sign him this month. With all the speculation about his future, it’s possible that the distractions are starting to affect his game. If that’s the case, Liverpool might have a problem on their hands. Of course, it could just be a one-off poor performance, but the timing is certainly concerning.
With Manchester United playing as well as they did, it felt like both teams were finally showing their true potential. It was a brilliant spectacle. This fixture has delivered some unforgettable encounters over the years, but I’d say this one ranks right up there. It was like a heavyweight boxing match—both teams landed some heavy blows, but neither could quite finish the other off.
This is definitely one of those games that will be remembered for a long time. But looking back, it does feel like an opportunity missed for Liverpool, doesn’t it?
Let’s not get too carried away, though. The Reds are still six points clear of Arsenal with a game in hand. But considering the opposition they were up against and the chance they had to really put the pressure on the Gunners, this result will sting. Manchester United had only scored once at Anfield before today and had won just one of their last six league games. This was one of the weakest United sides we’ve seen in decades, and Liverpool should have been able to brush them aside. But instead, they struggled—arguably putting in their worst performance of the season.
There’s no need to panic, of course, but this game shows that the title race is far from over. Arsenal have been handed a lifeline. On the other hand, United deserve a lot of credit for their fight today. The Red Devils were written off by many going into this match—some predicted a thrashing. After all, they were in the worst form they’ve ever been in during the Premier League era.
But what a response they gave! They needed to show character, and boy did they do that. Even much stronger United teams in the past have come to Anfield and not played anywhere near that level. They battled hard for that point and, honestly, could have come away with more. To come from two goals down in just 11 minutes at Anfield shows incredible resilience.
Ruben Amorim and his team can certainly hold their heads high after this one.
Red Devils earn a point after thrilling clash at Anfield
