Liverpool 2-0 Manchester United : Five Talking Points

Daniel Sturridge’s first-half penalty and Roberto Firmino’s predatory finish gave Liverpool a 2-0 lead after the first leg of their round of 16 Europa League clash against Manchester United at Anfield. tooAfter starting the game on the front foot, Liverpool took the lead through Daniel Sturridge’s penalty. Memphis Depay pulled back Nathaniel Clyne and the referee had little hesitation in pointing to the spot. Despite guessing the right way, David de Gea, who was excellent on the night otherwise, failed to stop the spot kick.Hee did, however, make several crucial saves in the match and was one of the few United players to emerge out of the game with credit. Although he was powerless to stop a good finish from Firmino in the second half that gave the Reds a 2-0 advantage.Here are the major talking points from the game:

#1 Enthralling European encounter

Klopp displaying the passion his players showed throughout the game

One of the problems with big games between two sides, things are too cagey and they tend to peter out into a drab, dull affair where neither side is really looking to take the game early on. But the opening 20 seconds of this game, where Marcus Rashford just kneed the ball over the goal from inside the box, showed that this wasn’t going to be like the usual big games.

Thankfully for the hosts and also the visiting fans, this was an entertaining encounter, albeit one that was dominated predominantly by the home side. While United showed that they weren’t just there to shut up shop and wanted to extend their four-game winning streak against Liverpool, Klopp’s side displayed the passion and determination that we have come to expect.

Although the game was one-sided, at no point did seem boring and that was thanks largely to the high intensity of the game that brought the fans on board and made it an encounter to relish. While some of the defending wasn’t spectacular, the saves from de Gea certainly were and the final result is one that reflected the state of the game, which was refreshingly entertaining. Perhaps fittingly so, given this was the first European clash between these two heavyweights.