5 things Manchester United need to do at Anfield to beat Liverpool
Manchester United visit Anfield on Saturday to play their fourth away game of the season. All their away games were against the teams that are struggling at the bottom half of the table - and the Red Devils won two and drew a game.
The thirteen-time Premier League champion have conceded just two goals in their first seven Premier League fixtures. However, the real test begins now as there are an array of tough away fixtures lined up for the most successful team in the Premier League era. Liverpool will be hoping to end the Red Devils' near-perfect record this season.
Here are the five things that Manchester United need to do to defeat Liverpool and maintain their unbeaten run.
#1 – Man-mark Coutinho with Herrera
With the emergence of zonal marking strategy in the early '90s, the man-marking system is almost gone at the élite level of modern-style football. There is a difference between man-marking in set-pieces and open play.
And we are talking about the man-marking strategy in the open play, where a player escorts the opponent player throughout the game giving him no space to run freely.
Mourinho used Ander Herrera last season to mark Eden Hazard throughout the game. He frustrated the Belgian with the textbook man-marking effort and nullified his attacking threat.
They should go with a similar man-marking option to diminish the threat of the Liverpool attack. The majority of the attack comes from Coutinho, who is their linchpin. By marking Coutinho with Herrera, United can obstruct the bulk of supply to the front-three.