Manchester United has finally got the better of their long-time rival, as they grabbed a deserving 3-2 win against Liverpool in the FA Cup 4th round. Jurgen Klopp has never won a game at Old Trafford but Ole Gunnar Solskjaer got his first win over Klopp.
This match was everything the fans were longing for. After the dull display both the teams displayed last week in the Premier League fixture, an intriguing display was a must. For the first time, we saw a United side dominating in possession as well as the game.
The game was equally distributed before a defensive error let Mohamed Salah produce a cheeky finish. The hosts were quick enough with the reply as Marcus Rashford‘s exquisite cross was perfectly finished off by Mason Greenwood.
Early in the second half, Greenwood’s through ball was poorly dealt by Liverpool’s young defender, Rhys Williams which let Rashford make the run and finish the shot calmly giving them the lead.
Liverpool were back at their best in the second half and they were soon rewarded. A beautiful combination of passes inside the box was finished by Salah to grab his second of the day.
However, the game-winner happened to be Bruno Fernandes, who came off the bench to score a close-ranged freekick.
OLE GUNNAR SOLSKJAER’ REACTION AFTER WIN OVER KLOPP:
“It’s fantastic to win games over last year’s champs, a fantastic team. Had a few results in the last couple of years playing different systems… This time we played on our terms as well, found a way the players believe in and we are getting stronger and stronger, the mentality to come back after being 1-0 down, and physically we are stronger and stronger too. We last the games more.”
“Of course, we look at the difference to a year ago or six months back, but you can’t take too many big strides at once, getting better and winning layer by layer winning tight games, so the morale and confidence are very good.”
– Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s post match reaction
JURGEN KLOPP’S REACTION:
“It was good preparation for the Tottenham game with their counter-attacking threat. We know exactly what we have to work on. If you are in a situation you don’t like, you want to get out of it. We want to get out of it and for that, we have to take steps. Tonight we made these steps – not the final ones, but we made steps and that’s for the moment OK.’
‘There’s no doubt about my trust, but trust doesn’t mean we are not critical of ourselves, it’s not that I say, you did everything right in the last few years so now I don’t care if you made some mistakes. That’s not like this.“
– Jurgen Klopp’s post match reaction
Ole’s Manchester United will be facing West Ham on 11th February for the 5th round of the FA Cup fixture.
With the loss, Liverpool’s winless streak has now stretched to 7 games. United, on the other hand, has lost only 1 in 13 games (against Manchester City in the EFL Cup) since they were defeated by RB Leipzig in the Champions League final fixture.
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