The Theatre of Dreams endured as a house of horror for the Reds. Liverpool’s perfect start to the season ended with a 1-1 draw against Manchester United.
Finishing one shy of the record of consecutive wins (18) held by rivals Manchester City, Liverpool stay atop the table but essentially dropped two points. There should have been little to prevent the Reds from running riot at Old Trafford against a weak and depleted United side. Yet, the home side rode the emotion of the occasion better and benefitted from nearly every referee decision.
United scored after referee Martin Atkinson failed to call Victor Lindelof for a foul on Divock Origi in midfield, which launched a counterattack that found Marcus Rashford scoring within seconds. It was a failure of both the on-pitch referee and VAR that allowed the goal to stand.
The goal emboldened the home side and allowed them to drop deeper defensively. Attacking only on counter breaks left Liverpool’s task of breaking United down even larger. It took the Reds until the 85th minute to stave off a shock loss when Adam Lallana tapped in a goal to level the score and save a point.
Despite being the better team in nearly all phases of the match, Liverpool left Manchester disappointed and dissatisfied. The late changes made a difference and should see the Reds shifting shape and personnel in future.
Here are four findings from the match.
