Manchester United 2-1 Liverpool
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Marcus Rashford scored twice for Manchester United on his first league start since 26 December
Jose Mourinho said he "doesn't care" whether people think his Manchester United side deserved the victory over Liverpool which strengthened their grip on second place in the Premier League.
Marcus Rashford scored twice on his recall to the starting XI to give Mourinho's side the points despite a largely defensive display in which they had just 32% of possession and two shots on target.
"It was a complete performance by us with two different halves," Mourinho said. "If people don't think we deserved it, I don't care.
"I am a bit tired, we have a match on Tuesday. I don't care what people say. The boys are happy, I'm happy."
The win meant Mourinho's side narrowed the gap on runaway leaders Manchester City to 13 points - at least until City play at Stoke on Monday - but, more pertinently, they are now five points clear of the third-placed Merseysiders.
Rashford, making his first league start since 26 December, will rightly grab the headlines but Romelu Lukaku was instrumental in both goals, and Liverpool simply could not deal with his physical power in the first half.
Nobody should go home disappointed - Mourinho
First, the Belgium striker's header from David de Gea's clearance found Rashford charging into the visitors' box, and he cut inside Trent Alexander-Arnold before firing into the bottom corner.
For United's second goal, Lukaku held up the ball from another goal-kick before feeding Juan Mata and, although he could not get a shot away, the ball fell for Rashford to score via a slight deflection from Alexander-Arnold.
At that stage Liverpool were second best in every area of the pitch and could have fallen further behind when Mata volleyed acrobatically wide from an Alexis Sanchez cross.
Jurgen Klopp's side improved dramatically after the break and, with United defending deep, the visitors cranked up the pressure without ever really opening up their hosts.
It took an own goal for the Reds to reduce the deficit when Eric Bailly turned Sadio Mane's cross past De Gea while attempting to clear at the near post.
That gave Liverpool's travelling fans hope but their side could not fashion any further clear chances, even in six often chaotic minutes of stoppage time.
United survived to clinch victory in the first of three games here in the next seven days that will shape their season.
Next up are Sevilla on Tuesday, with a place in the last eight of the Champions League at stake, before they face Brighton in the FA Cup quarter-finals next Saturday.
'The human brain is a complex thing'
It is the perfect start to a pivotal week for United as Mourinho's side chase more silverware and a guaranteed ticket to next season's Champions League.
His side barely made it out of their own half in the second 45 minutes but De Gea only had two routine saves to make as Liverpool failed to break down the organised ranks.
As well as scoring through Bailly's own goal, Liverpool had 14 efforts at goal at Old Trafford but only two of them were on target (green arrows in left-hand graphic) and neither of them troubled David de Gea. Their best attempt was a first-half header by Virgil van Dijk (number 4 in middle graphic) from a James Milner corner, while they had seven shots blocked (right-hand graphic), all from outside the box.
"You can be in control without having the ball, you can be in trouble when you have the ball," Mourinho said.
"It is an important win. The three games in the league, the Champions League and the FA Cup are independent events, with no relation to the next match.
"But the human brain is a complex thing. A defeat leaves a bit of damage and victory makes happiness even if you are fatigued."
Russia-bound Rashford returns to run riot
The arrival of Sanchez from Arsenal in January has had ramifications for several United players, including Rashford, who had played fewer than 100 minutes in the league as a substitute in 2018 before Saturday.
Rashford has had to wait for his chance but, in front of watching England manager Gareth Southgate, he did not waste it. After the match Mourinho suggested that Southgate has already said that Rashford's place at the World Cup is safe.
"I spoke with Gareth Southgate a few weeks ago and Gareth told me it doesn't matter if he plays or he doesn't play," Mourinho said.
"He trusts the kid and the kid goes to the World Cup, so he didn't need to impress Gareth, Gareth knows what he is and Gareth knows that he can give us things at the World Cup."
With Paul Pogba injured, Sanchez moved inside to play in the hole behind Lukaku, with Rashford and Mata coming back into the team on the left and right.
Pogba interrupts Mourinho & Klopp interviews after Man Utd win
And while Sanchez again failed to impress, Rashford showed his lack of minutes has not affected his sharpness or his appetite in front of goal.
The 20-year-old now has 12 goals in all competitions this season, making this his most prolific campaign yet, and he received a standing ovation when he was replaced - although some fans were not happy he was withdrawn.
"The fans they can do what they want, I'm not upset at all with that reaction," Mourinho said.
A reality check for Liverpool's defence
Jurgen Klopp's side had conceded only one goal in their previous five games but any suggestions that their problems at the back might be over quickly disappeared in a fractious first half.
Lukaku bullied the Reds centre-halves Dejan Lovren and Virgil van Dijk throughout the first period and the carnage that the big Belgian caused allowed his team-mates to capitalise.
True, Liverpool were disjointed all over the pitch before the break, but they were especially disappointing at the back, which is where the damage was done.
2-0 down at Man Utd is not a good idea - Klopp
The Reds did improve in the second half when they at last managed some meaningful possession, but they struggled to break down a well-drilled United back-line.
Bailly's own goal means Liverpool are now the highest-scoring away side in Europe's big five leagues, with 35 on their travels, but this was not one of their attack's better days.
With space at a premium for Mane and Mohamed Salah, their forays forward lacked their usually lethal punch and, other than pick the ball out of the back of his net, De Gea had little else to do.
Klopp felt his side should have had a penalty when substitute Fellaini tackled Mane inside the area, but genuine scares for the hosts were few and far between.
"It was a clear penalty with Fellaini on Mane, in situations like this you need the right decision," he said.
"It is all about the result and we lost.
"We chased the game in the second half and caused them problems but this is a result game and they have the result and we don't."
Man of the match - Romelu Lukaku (Manchester United)
This will go down as another game where the Belgium striker has drawn a blank against a 'big six' team but if you look beyond the statistics, you would see a brilliant all-round performance. Lukaku led the line superbly, made both of United's goals, and also helped them keep Liverpool quiet after the break with his defending from set-pieces.
What they said:
Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho, speaking to BBC Match of the Day: "We were quite aggressive in the first half, we wanted to have control of the game, spaces for transition and to try to exploit - not weaknesses - but points where the opponent is not so good.
"The second half it was not our intention to be as defensive as we were. Liverpool pushed us back but I don't remember the chances that needed David de Gea to make the goal safe. I don't remember a dangerous situation to our goal. It was control by them having the ball and control by us without the ball. I think we deserved the three points."
Was this good preparation for the Champions League?
"The three games in the league, the Champions League and the FA Cup are independent events, with no relation to the next match. The human brain is a complex thing. The defeat leaves a bit of damage and victory makes happiness even if you are fatigued. The best thing was to win this match."
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp, speaking to BBC Match of the Day: "It was 2-0 down of course - not a good idea against Manchester United. Lukaku is one of the best strikers in the world, we needed to be around to pick up the ball, we were not and Rashford could use the situation twice.
"We had opportunities to shoot from distance but we were not good enough, we did not score and had to chase the game in the second half. We did that, scored one and I think everyone agrees it was a penalty [Fellaini's tackle on Mane] but that doesn't help us now.
"It is very important [we bounce back] we have no time to waste.
"We chased the game in the second half and caused them problems, but this is a result game and they have the result and we don't."
Two shots on target, two goals
Manchester United beat Liverpool for the 68th time in league competition; this is the most defeats Liverpool have suffered against a single side.
Manchester United have won four of their eight games against fellow 'big six' sides in the Premier League this season (W4 D1 L3), twice as many as they managed in the whole of last season (W2 D4 L4).
Liverpool have won only one of their seven Premier League games on the weekends immediately after a Champions League game this season (W1 D4 L2).
Manchester United have won 20 of their 30 Premier League games this season, already surpassing their totals in both 2016-17 (18) and 2015-16 (19) and equalling their number of league wins in 2014-15 (20).
Only Manchester United (67) have profited from more own goals in the Premier League than Liverpool (58).
Manchester United had just two shots on target in this match - both of which were scored by Marcus Rashford.
Rashford has scored with 29% of his shots in the Premier League against 'big six' clubs, compared to 10% against the other teams.
Rashford has scored seven of his 16 Premier League goals against teams in the 'big six' (44%).
Romelu Lukaku now has seven Premier League assists this season; more than in any previous campaign.
What next?
Manchester United look to join Liverpool and neighbours Manchester City in the last eight of the Champions League when they play the second leg of their last-16 tie with Sevilla on Wednesday (kick-off 19:45 GMT), after a 0-0 draw in Spain.
Mourinho's men return to domestic action on Saturday when they host Brighton in the FA Cup quarter-finals (19:45 GMT) and their next Premier League game is after the international break, when they play Swansea on Saturday, 31 March (15:00 GMT) in what will be their fourth successive game at Old Trafford.
Liverpool are out of the FA Cup but they are in league action next weekend, when they play Watford at Anfield on Saturday (17:30 GMT).
- Published10 March 2018
- Published9 March 2018
- Published11 March 2018
