This sort of fixture used to be blockbuster fare, regardless of Liverpool's league standing, because of the intensity of the clash and usually because it generated some good football. I think expectations have been diminished since Mourinho took over at Old Trafford, because the last three league fixtures (including this one) have been one-dimensional in the sense that only one team really seemed keen to win it. (United under Moyes and van Gaal were quite grim too but at least Liverpool won some of those encounters; notably we also did lose to van Gaal's United, but at least they couldn't be accused of not trying.)
There have been complaints about United's defensive approach, but I’m not sure what the fuss is about. Mourinho got what he wanted, which was to avoid losing and thus having the positive narrative of United’s season so far turning into a negative one. His team played well to restrict our chances, but not well enough that we didn’t have a few clear opportunities. The word “masterclass” is so cliché – United mostly did what Mourinho asked but also got lucky that we weren’t more clinical. (Particularly that rebound from Matip’s shot in the first half, which Salah should really have left for Coutinho who was in a better position and on his favoured right foot.)
There might be some griping about how such defensive play is unbecoming of a team so expensively assembled. But that is to misunderstand Mourinho, who is a pragmatist with no deep allegiance to any system or style of play. More importantly, he has the luxury of a vantage point some distance above us in the league and less issues with putting away lesser sides than last season. There was simply no need for United to expose themselves more than they needed to.
We play with our kinetic, high line approach because it’s Klopp’s and, now, our identity and also because we have little choice: recent results notwithstanding, it’s still the approach that offers the best chance of winning (and we need to win in order to make up ground on the teams at the top of the table), and we’re unlikely to go back to the approach that we took at the tail end of last season unless our personnel options have been severely curtailed.
Nevertheless, for this game our fullbacks appeared less adventurous than in previous outings, particularly Moreno on the left. It may have been that they were instructed to hold back a little, which was probably a justifiable recognition that United had more potential to hurt us when turning over possession compared with Newcastle or Burnley.
While understandable, this tweak also shows up the gap in the system and our reliance on Mané when we play against packed defenses. Without Mané, Klopp seems to favour Coutinho on the left flank as an inverted "winger", but in games such as this – and particularly in games against Mourinho’s teams – Coutinho tends to be tightly marked and usually has to come very deep and centrally for the ball. Once he gets it he has to turn around and start over again, but without any teammate ahead of him on the left if the fullback isn't given a license to roam. I don’t see many instances of our midfielders helping out in this regard either.
If Mané was playing he would be stretching the opposition’s right defence with Coutinho already starting in central midfield and looking to hit runners or play one-twos with them. It's a far more efficient arrangement.
Thus, against parked buses it might be best to retain the creativity of Coutinho in the middle, while putting another aggressive runner on the flank. Oxlade-Chamberlain is probably the best person for the job given his experience with Arsenal. Similarly, Lallana has shown he can play in that role, though another option is to retain Coutinho on the flank with Lallana as the central creative midfielder, which has also worked well for Liverpool in the past. Playing Coutinho in the Mané position (without Lallana to complement him) seems like a waste against packed defenses, in my opinion.
While our defence notched a rare clean sheet, the performance has to be put into context. Gomez, showing his inexperience, found himself outwitted by Martial a couple of times, though hopefully this will be a good learning experience for him. We were not really tested aerially - which is probably our gravest weakness - in the absence of Fellaini and Progba (both of whom would almost certainly have started if fit).
While the centerbacks seemed to have coped well with the in-form Lukaku, United’s defensive posture meant that he was frequently isolated. However, in the first half he did turn and drive past Lovren into the box rather easily, which is a cause for concern.
Lastly, the one chance that Lukaku got he delivered straight at Mignolet. I consider us lucky, given that in the last few games the opposition have scored with their one clear cut chance against us. Perhaps we're due for a bit of luck in that regard. Now, if only we had some luck when we attack, then perhaps the tide of negativity will truly turn.
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