Europa League: Manchester United 1-1 Liverpool - 5 Talking Points
Manchester United played hosts to arch rivals, Liverpool in the Europa League Round of 16 tie. Having brought in a 2-0 advantage to Old Trafford, Liverpool were looking to finish the job they'd started at Anfield. However, Machester United had other plans where a good passage of play for the Red Devils, ended with Nathaniel Clyne tripping Anthony Martial in the penalty box. The referee immediately pointed to the spot and Anthony Martial slotted the ball into the back of the net as Mignolet guessed wrong.The game came back to life right after and saw Manchester United press for the tie equalizer. However, Philippe Coutinho thought otherwise, deciding to run past a baffled Guillermo Varela with the ball at his feet while he lobbed over an onrushing David De Gea. The Spaniard getting lobbed for a goal has been unheard of but here was O Magico doing it and making it look downright easy.The match eventually ended 1-1 with Manchester United getting knocked out by Liverpool after an intense 180+ minutes of football owing to their victory at Anfield. Let us look at five of the biggest talking points of the game.
#1 The Penalty
The game was quietly on the lookout for a chance to light itself up. After a sluggish start to the game, one could see as clear as the light of day that Manchester United were looking to tighten the screws. It worked for a considerable amount of time and when Nathaniel Clyne, who had a very poor night out at Old Trafford, tripped Anthony Martial in the penalty box, Old Trafford erupted with the hope that the penalty would form the turning point for the match eventually.
Anthony Martial slotted the penalty away as coolly as anyone can on the occasion of such a game. The penalty itself did not seem to be contentious, with clear contact made even though it was on the lesser side. What ensued after the Penalty was a furious run of play where Manchester United threatened to wipe out Liverpool’s lead from the first leg completely.
Liverpool looked completely under the scanner as Manchester United repeatedly asked questions of the Liverpool defense. However, the momentum gathered by the opening goal was soon completely wiped away.