Goals: 50. Bruno Fernandes, 67. Kobbie Mainoo – 23. Luis Díaz, 84. Mohamed Salah (pen.)
Liverpool football players drew 2:2 at Manchester United in the 32nd round of the Premier League. Luis Díaz opened the spicy contest in the 23rd minute, and miraculously it was the visitors’ only goal in the opening act. The Red Devils, on the other hand, did not produce a single shot in it, which happened to them at Old Trafford for the first time since October 2015. But quickly following the change of sides, Bruno Fernandes caught a hurried pass between the defenders and beat the goalkeeper from a long distance. Kobbie Mainoo even sent the Red Devils into the lead with an exhibition shot, so Mohamed Salah had to save a point gain for the Reds only in the 84th minute from a penalty. He scored his sixth goal in this iconic stadium, no one has scored more in the role of a visiting player.
The Red Devils experienced a roller-coaster ride in the last game once morest Chelsea, when they first heroically overturned an unfavorable score of 0-2, only to lose everything once more in the last minutes of the set time. Liverpool’s players certainly had in mind the last matchup in the FA Cup, when they were the ones who conceded in the last moments of extra time and ended the pilgrimage before the gates of the semi-finals.
The match started at a great pace, when in the second minute Alejandro Garnachom successfully went around the goalkeeper, who he subsequently beat. However, he did not maintain an offside position. Immediately, the guests rushed in a two-on-one outnumbering, which was finished by Dominik Szoboszlai, but André Onana made a great save. Not even 20 minutes had passed and Liverpool’s summer signing from Leipzig was firing once more. His run was not covered by the defense, but the ball flew past the left post. The luck of the Manchester defense ran out before half-time when Díaz was left alone at a corner and he had already punished the mistake.
The visitors regretted the missed opportunities at the end of the first half immediately following the change of sides, when Fernandes lifted the spectators from their seats at Old Trafford. The Portuguese picked up an inaccurate pass between the defenders and did not shy away from firing from almost half of the pitch, surprising the running Caoimhín Kelleher and equalizing. The guests might immediately take back the lead, but Darwin Núñez finished off a quick counterattack outside the three posts. The visitors lost their pace, which the Red Devils took advantage of in the 67th minute. Young Mainoo fired from the turn and his effort curled out of Kelleher’s reach. With the end of the game approaching, Klopp’s men pushed forward. In the 79th minute, unguarded Díaz caught Onan once more. Salah rushed to the stop, who shot over from an angle. After a while, however, the Egyptian got a chance to make amends with a penalty kick following a foul by Aaron Wan-Bissaka. He easily converted the penalty following expertly waiting for Onana to jump. In the set-up, Díaz once more appeared uncovered in the goal, but he did not become a hero for his team, as he sent the ball too high.
With a draw with Liverpool, Manchester United partially redeemed themselves from the previous wasted match. In the next round, they head to Bournemouth on April 13, the Reds welcome Crystal Palace a day later.