Recently, it was one of the most thrilling North West derby.
Perhaps it could be considered as the most entertaining games of the season in England.
Whether you were a Manchester United or Liverpool fan or just a neutral observer, watching the game would not have been a waste of time. Especially from the perspective of Manchester United fans, this is the essence of football watching and supporting.
On March 17th, in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup in England, Manchester United faced Liverpool, the ultimate English rivals.
Currently, Manchester United is not having the best season and is not living up to its reputation.
Even though, when it comes to naming the two most prestigious teams in English history, these two teams are undoubtedly at the top of the list.
Recently, Liverpool has been overwhelmingly dominant.
They have been scoring multiple goals in each game against Manchester United, particularly last season when they recorded a staggering 7-0 victory at Anfield, delivering a dreadful night for Manchester United.
Even though Liverpool is currently in 2nd place and Manchester United is in 6th place in the league, the gap between them is significant.
However, this game is a derby match and a tournament match.
Moreover, it's being played at the legendary Old Trafford.
Therefore, recent records and standings may be considered irrelevant.
Manchester United saw the return of Hujlund up front and Aaron Wan-Bissaka at full-back.
Previously, due to injuries to full-backs on both sides except for Dalot, a center-back had to fill in at full-back.
However, for the first time in a while, natural full-backs were deployed on both sides.
Contrary to expectations, Wan-Bissaka was placed on the left instead of Dalot.
This decision is believed to be aimed at stopping Salah, who often cuts inside with his left foot, by deploying Wan-Bissaka's excellent defensive abilities.
In midfield, due to a last-minute injury to Casemiro, Mainoo and McTominay took their places.
Personally, even if Casemiro was fit, I hoped he wouldn't start, as his form hasn't been great lately.
Leaving that aside, it seems like there's something going on this season with the continuous occurrence of injuries.
As for Liverpool, Salah has been a regular starter since returning from injury.
Additionally, Gomez, who seems to have stepped up his game recently, filled in for Arnold, and Robertson, who also returned from injury, took his place on the left.
The early stages of the match saw Manchester United relentlessly pressing forward. Practically all outfield players, except for the center-backs, pushed into the opponent's half to execute aggressive attacks and pressurizing defense. It was a stark contrast to their approach against Manchester City. Honestly, I anticipated a similar pattern to the City game, but instead, it was surprisingly aggressive, almost to the extent where I questioned if we had seen this before recently.
One particular surprise was Wan-Bissaka being deployed as the left-back.
Despite it being his first game back from injury and playing in an unfamiliar position, he adeptly exploited the left half-space with vigorous underlapping.
Thanks to Wan-Bissaka, Rashford and Bruno operated more smoothly on the left, and with opposing players naturally gravitating towards him, it freed up space for McTominay, Mainoo, Hojlund, and even Garnacho on the right.
With Hojlund's return, the high pressing in the forward line became much more effective.
In games where Hojlund was absent and Bruno was tasked with leading the press alone, Bruno still put in an incredible amount of effort, but the difference in speed allowed opponents to find more space to play out. Now, with two players pressing relentlessly, and one of them being exceptionally fast, the intensity of the press has changed.
Additionally, Mainoo and Dalot were really impressive.
Mainoo's incredible dribble, where he took on three defenders in the box, speaks for itself.
As for Dalot, he was admirable.
Whether he stayed back in defense, inverted to the center, or overlapped widely on the flanks, he seemed to have become a complete full-back, leaving nothing to be desired.
Early on, what stood out for Liverpool was Kelleher. He appeared several times in the early stages with saves that made you wonder, 'How did he stop that?'
If it weren't for Kelleher, Manchester United might have scored two or even three goals in the first half alone.
Robertson's return was also a significant boost for Liverpool. With Robertson's characteristic pattern of quickly overlapping wide when Luis Diaz drags defenders inside from the left, he penetrated into the box or delivered powerful crosses.
Salah also deserves praise as there seems to be no flaw in his game now. He has become, or rather has been, an impeccable forward for quite some time.
Whether he's on the right and finds it congested, he seamlessly transitions to the center, drops deeper, or moves to the left to contribute to the build-up or take shots.
He also showed strength in holding off defenders.
The first goal came from Manchester United, who were relentlessly pushing forward.
It was scored by McTominay, who has recorded the most goals for the team this season.
After Garnacho's shot was blocked by Kelleher, McTominay, with his characteristic box penetration and impeccable positioning, pushed the rebound into the net.
There was also an opportunity to score another goal immediately, but unfortunately, the shot was too straight at the goalkeeper.
After quickly scoring the opening goal and continuing to dominate for a few more minutes, Manchester United began to gradually concede momentum to Liverpool.
Eventually, just before the end of the first half, disaster struck.
As Liverpool gained control of the game, their center-back, Quansah, dribbled all the way into the half-space without anyone challenging him.
Expecting a pass, the defenders only focused on blocking passing lanes, allowing Gomez to penetrate deep into Manchester United's territory. Quansah then passed the ball to Nunez, passed to Mac Allister, luckily his shot deflected off Mainoo's foot and grazing the goalkeeper's fingertips before finding its way into the net.
Once again, Manchester United's recurring issue this season of failing to maintain momentum after scoring the opening goal was evident.
And still, Liverpool did not miss the chance against Manchester United, who were still struggling to regain their composure.
Attempting a sloppy build-up from the back, Manchester United lost possession to Liverpool's pressing, leading to an immediate counterattack.
The ball ended up at Nunez's feet, who took a shot.
Although this time it was saved by Onana, the rebound fell perfectly in front of Salah, reminiscent of McTominay's goal.
Salah calmly slotted the ball home to complete the turnaround for Liverpool.
In the second half, Liverpool largely controlled the flow of the game.
They adjusted the tempo appropriately, increasing their ball possession time, while Manchester United naturally began to retreat towards their own goal.
However, Manchester United's midfield remained a concern.
With defensive vulnerabilities in the midfield trio, it's inevitable due to the wide spaces they leave open.
This seems to stem from a frenzied collaboration between a defensive line forced to drop deep and an attacking line struggling to create opportunities when deep.
With only one full-back returning and key defensive players still missing,
Manchester United's defensive line is in a precarious situation.
While Maguire and Lindelof are solid players, it's a well-known fact that they lack agility and speed.
Additionally, Varane's mobility has been significantly affected by frequent injuries compared to his previous form. Therefore, the risk of pushing the defensive line forward is too great to overlook.
Like Tottenham against Fulham, the effectiveness of Postecoglou's high defensive line can be seen when Micky van de Ven is present, but the outcome without him is worth considering.
If we were to drop the defensive line overall, including the attacking line, we could solve the spacing issue. However, the problem is that we would then struggle in attack.
With Manchester United's attackers in poor form this season, they are not as effective on the counter as they were last season.
Think about how Manchester United missed several crucial opportunities in the recent Manchester Derby.
Therefore, I think Ten Hag considers these situations and believes that widening the gap and relying on a solid defense and goalkeeper to defend against shots is a less risky approach.
In any case, it's a problem that needs to be addressed.
In the second half, Manchester United, despite enduring pressure from Liverpool's attacks, managed to hold their ground thanks to the disappointing finishing from Liverpool's attackers and some solid saves from Onana and the defense line.
Then, an opportunity to change the flow of the game emerged.
Liverpool made substitutions to manage the workload of recently returned Salah and Robertson, but it turned out to be a handshake for Manchester United.
Coming off the bench were Gakpo and Bradley, but especially Gakpo lacked the attacking influence compared to Salah.
Manchester United also made additional substitutions in response.
Considering it was a tournament match where fatigue could become a factor, Ten Hag began to implement his strategy.
He withdrew Hojlund, Wan-Bissaka, and Mainoo due to their diminishing stamina and brought in Eriksen, Antony, and Maguire.
Towards the end, he replaced Varane with Diallo, pushing more players forward into the attack.
This strategy paid off for Manchester United.
Especially, Diallo's introduction had a significant impact, as his proactive and intelligent pressing allowed Manchester United to effectively press high up the pitch.
As a result of the opportunities created, Antony scored a remarkable goal with a right-footed turning shot into Liverpool's net.
Given it was Antony and considering it was a right-footed strike, it became an unpredictable play that exploited the opponent's vulnerabilities.
Manchester United managed to cling on to life by a thread and push the game into regular time.
Just before the end of regular time, substitute Eriksen provided an astonishing lobbed pass, setting up Rashford with a perfect through ball, presenting him with a one-on-one chance against the goalkeeper.
But, Rashford frustratingly squandered the opportunity to end the game, missing the target, much to the disappointment, as it was a shooting route he used to favor when in good form.
The game proceeded to extra time.
The momentum still remained with Manchester United as they continued to dominate.
With numerous players pushed forward in the attack, they applied sustained pressure, with the substitutes providing significant impetus.
Moreover, Ten Hag even constructed formations rarely seen in regular play, positioning Rashford and Maguire as a striking duo up front, while deploying Eriksen and Bruno as makeshift center-backs at the back, facilitating the retrieval of second balls and orchestrating swift transitions from defense to attack.
However, just before the end of the first half of extra time, Liverpool seized an opportunity, and Elliot, who had come on as a substitute, unleashed a mid-range shot.
The shot struck Eriksen and then miraculously deflected through the legs of Maguire, finding its way into the net once again with an incredible trajectory.
And as the second half of extra time began, Ten Hag once again adjusted the formation.
Now, with Lindelof also out, Maguire was left alone at center-back, while the newly substituted Mount added more mobility to the midfield.
Additionally, Antony was positioned as a wing-back.
Honestly, it had been a long time since I had seen this kind of initiative from Ten Hag, and as someone who admires such adaptability, I found it satisfying.
When it comes to winning, not being bound by conventions and using whatever means necessary.
Once again, the strategy paid off, and with almost all their resources geared towards attack, Manchester United relentlessly pressed in the opposition's half, determined to seize a goal.
And once more, Diallo was instrumental in the endeavor.
His pressure led to a defensive error from Liverpool, and after a dribble by McTominay and a pass received by Rashford, this time, Rashford made no mistake in finishing decisively.
It was Manchester United once again showing their resilience.
Just as everyone was anticipating penalties, a corner kick situation arose for Liverpool.
As the corner kick was dealt with and it seemed like Liverpool would retain possession of the second ball,
once again, it was Diallo who pressured and snatched the ball away.
As soon as he stole the ball, Garnacho received the pass and started sprinting.
Liverpool had Bradley alone in the back, while Manchester United surged forward with Garnacho and Diallo.
Approaching the penalty box, Garnacho passed to Diallo, but it was slightly short, causing some anxiety.
However, Diallo made an amazing first touch this time, breaking Bradley's composure.
And then, a perfect left-footed finish followed.
https://youtu.be/DKk8N2PYwCA?si=ln9CFd2pJ6LnCU-m
It was the moment of a stunning turnaround as Manchester United sealed the game with a 4-3 victory.
This match was so dramatic that it had the potential to reverse the recent unfavorable trend for Manchester United in just one game, marking an incredibly dramatic moment.
Old Trafford remains, as ever, the Theatre of Dreams.
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