Liverpool back on top after Shaqiri double sinks poor United

LIVERPOOL: Alisson, Clyne, Van Dijk, Lovren, Robertson, Wijnaldum, Fabinho, Keita (Shaqiri, 70 mins), Mane (Henderson, 84 mins), Salah, Firmino. Unused subs: Mignolet, Camacho, Moreno, Lallana, Sturridge.

MAN UTD: De Gea, Darmian, Bailly, Lindelof, Dalot (Fellaini, 46 mins), Matic, Herrera (Martial, 79 mins), Young, Rashford, Lingard (Mata, 85 mins), Lukaku. Unused subs: Romero, Jones, Valencia, Pogba. Referee: Martin Atkinson

Man of the match: Sadio Mane

Match rating: 7/10 ONE big change, two massive deflections, but all for Liverpool to stay resolutely on course.

Jurgen Klopp’s are still first in the league after his inspired introduction of Xherdan Shaqiri brought the two decisive goals for a 3-1 win, and the German’s first victory over Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United.

This is the product and value of being proactive, the value of Shaqiri’s signing, and a lesson for United. The gulf between the teams in terms was often embarrassing, and that’s even allowing for the hard work Liverpool made of this match, as well as Mourinho again dropping Paul Pogba.

And sure, there was an element of luck about both of the key goals given they were both from those deflections, but that was no blind luck. It didn’t come out of nothing. It came from Klopp proactively responding to what was happening, and his team looking to force the issue, and also from Mourinho’s approach.

The Portuguese’s defensive gameplan was rendered irrelevant, as was the Alisson error that had seemed for a while like it would give United an undeserved point, just like on their last two visits here.

It could even be argued that this was the flip side of both of those 0-0s in 2016 and 2017. Sitting that deep and ceding the ball means you need it to bounce your way every time. It didn’t.

That was the difference here, and one huge difference between the teams.

It is also a big difference between Liverpool this season and last season, and potentially in the title race. You could certainly feel that in the joyous celebrations for the goals and after the game. This was obviously about much more than beating United.

For all the times they showed similar force and attacking will last season, they too often lacked another option on the bench like Shaqiri.

This was exactly why he was signed. He was exacting.

And it was all the more creditable from both he and Klopp, because Liverpool looked to have so frustratingly lost their way.

They looked to have lost the chance at what should have been a big win. Klopp proactively addressed an evident mental block in his team, an anxiety. Because that gulf between the sides was really most visible in a vigorous first 20 minutes for Liverpool.

They looked like they had sensed a fragility about United, and were willing to properly punish it… except their own anxiety about this so often got the better of them.

It genuinely killed so many promising moves, particularly in that onslaught of an opening 20 minutes. It was as if Liverpool were in such an overdrive to overwhelm United that they couldn’t stop once they actually got to the box, when a bit more pause and poise was required. All of Roberto Firmino, Mohamed Salah, Naby Keita and Sadio Mane were guilty of poor touches just when they looked to have got beyond that amassed United defence, who themselves looked so much less sturdy than the last few encounters at Anfield.

Fabinho meanwhile looked like he was too often resorting to long shots, until he was finally the player to show the kind of composure that was required. Duly, the goal followed.

After a move admittedly started by Firmino’s force allowing him to beat Eric Bailly to a ball he had no right to get and then brushing the centre-half aside, the ball eventually found its way to the edge of the box and Fabinho.

The midfielder picked out Mane rather than trying to pick his spot, and the forward so calmly chested it and finished it in the same move.

It felt like it was coming, but also necessary for Mane, after he missed so many chances in the midweek win over Napoli.

That made the source of the United goal all the more ironic. Alisson had kept Liverpool in the Champions League on Tuesday, but here kept United in a game they really had no right to still be in.

That had been that submissive, that outplayed.