Rooney’s raid raises United title hopes
Wayne steals the points, but it’s nowhere near a clasico
So Jurgen Klopp joins a long list of Liverpool managers vanquished first time out by Manchester United. Bob Paisley was the last to win his opening game against them, on November 8, 1975 — United were in Division Two for Paisley’s first season at Anfield — and Wayne Rooney made sure Klopp wouldn’t even have the consolation of a point.
Not that he was in poor company there, either. Brendan Rodgers, Kenny Dalglish, Roy Hodgson, Rafael Benitez, Gerard Houllier and Roy Evans all lost their initial encounter with the enemy down the M62 — Graeme Souness the last not to get beaten, in 1991. So this is a tradition, although not one that the locals are too keen on upholding.
From United’s perspective, it wasn’t a greatly deserved victory, but it was most certainly an important one. United still resemble one of those arthouse films where nothing much happens for an hour, then there is a bit of action, the credits roll and everyone leaves none the wiser — but this is Anfield, after all. It is not an easy place for any United team to come and win, so they deserve credit for that.
When the final whistle blew, however, it was what it was: a match between the fifth-best team in the Premier League, and the ninth. Neither of these sides are currently within the Champions League elite and neither played like it.
We imbue this fixture with clasico status, but it’s a cheque these squads can no longer cash. United did not have a serious chance until Anthony Martial struck wide in the 57th minute, and Rooney’s goal was their first shot on target. It also took his Premier League total for United to 176 — the most scored by any player for one club. For such a rotten striker, he does seem to break a lot of records.
Liverpool had the best chances in the first half and a fair few after half-time, too, but this was an old-fashioned smash-and-grab raid.
With 12 minutes remaining, Memphis Depay took a short corner, which Juan Mata whipped in and Marouane Fellaini won commandingly in the air. His header hit the bar, but Rooney was quickest to react, lashing the ball in with the surrounding Liverpool players sluggish.
Christian Benteke was then introduced to try to revive the game as he did against Arsenal last week but, this time, it was too late. Having failed to play with an out-and-out goalscorer, Liverpool can hardly complain at ending with nil.
It was the sort of match that Sir Alex Ferguson used to earmark for Darren Fletcher, combative and furious at times. of course, in those days both clubs had players of the calibre of Cristiano Ronaldo, Fernando Torres, Steven Gerrard and Paul Scholes to provide balance.
No such luck here. This was very much the lite version of Liverpool and United. It is fitting that Rooney, whose presence is a reminder of better times, should prove the decider.
Lucas is perhaps the equivalent of Fletcher now, and his better games often seem to be blood-and-thunder scraps against Liverpool’s elite rivals.
So it was here. We may wonder what would happen if Floyd Mayweather fought a heavyweight, and this was its equivalent: Lucas versus Fellaini in the heart of midfield. It is fair to say that, pound for pound, the little man gave as good as he got.
The game was only minutes old when the pair clashed heads tussling for a loose ball. The collision looked accidental but Fellaini came off worse and appeared to take umbrage at this.
Not long after, the pair were scrapping again, with referee Mark Clattenburg required to restore order amid the standard melee.
Yet, much like the match, their duel failed to spark and the game took a predictable slant. United had much of the ball, but absolutely zero threat on goal for long periods. Liverpool played a high-energy game without the quality necessary to make it count.
David de Gea was busier than Simon Mignolet but should have been made to work harder.
Jordan Henderson is charged with assuming Gerrard’s mantle at Liverpool, but it wasn’t just will that made the former captain such a magnificent player. He had the ability to back it up. Henderson lacks Gerrard’s range — and in more ways than one.
Still, Liverpool had the best of the action in the first half and could have gone in at half-time ahead. In the 10th minute, Lucas clipped a ball over the top for Adam Lallana to run free. He outstripped the United back line and tried to head the bouncing ball past de Gea, who blocked, with it running to Roberto Firmino — only for his shot to fly wide of the far post.
Just two minutes later, Firmino switched the play to James Milner in a lot of space on the right. His shot was snatched, however, flying high over the bar.
There are glimpses of what can be achieved under Klopp’s tuition, though, and in the 30th minute a passing move involving Lucas, Henderson, Lallana, Firmino and Henderson again, ended with the England midfielder shooting wide, a trend that continued in the second half.
Emre Can forced a good save from de Gea in the 50th minute, and a superb one 16 minutes later — when he also recovered in time to keep out Firmino’s follow-up — and Mamadou Sakho couldn’t get sufficient purchase on an excellent cross from Milner in the 73rd minute.
Yet all the time, United were growing stronger. Martial had their first real opportunity after 57 minutes, when Rooney played back a cross from Cameron Borthwick-Jackson, and maybe one day United will have a manager who will play the Frenchman in a dangerous position through the middle.
If there is a negative in this result for United it is that Louis van Gaal could interpret it as vindication of his ploy to use Rooney as his centre-forward and Martial wide. Title talk, post-match, from the manager, suggests this is so.
And, of course, United are still in touch and a club with their resources should never be underestimated; but neither should the evidence of our own eyes. This may have been a title-winners’ result, but it was not a title-winners’ performance.
All that can be said of United is that they are considerably further ahead in their rebuilding project than Klopp and Liverpool.
The revolution, for both clubs, is slow in coming.