Liverpool was disappointed with their draw with Manchester United. This week, Jürgen Klopp need to receive two boosts that will help guarantee that the same errors aren’t made this season.
Liverpool supporters may at least find solace in the knowledge that they won’t be playing Erik ten Hag’s team this season, despite how frustrating their experience has been against Manchester United. All they can hope for is that none of those three encounters end up being ruined.
On Sunday at Old Trafford, it was all the same old narrative. Liverpool was in complete control, produced a ton of opportunities, and left asking how in the world they hadn’t defeated such a dysfunctional team.
The same thing occurred in the cup a few weeks ago, then in the league in December at Anfield. For the sake of argument, set aside the idea that matches versus United will be evaluated differently; two draws and a loss against them is merely bad.
Luckily, they haven’t suffered as much harm as they could have from our lack of victories against them. Even though its destiny is no longer in its hands, Liverpool is still very much in the running for the Premier League championship.
Given that Arsenal has a better goal differential than the Reds, Mikel Arteta’s team will probably need to make at least one mistake. They will be under constant pressure from Manchester City, who is undoubtedly prepared to strike at any moment.
For the rest of the season, Liverpool must make sure that those lost opportunities against United don’t happen again. This week, Jürgen Klopp will get two significant reinforcements that might help do just that.
At Old Trafford, Jamie Carragher and Reds supporters were left pining for Diogo Jota. The Portuguese’s clinical style in front of goal was greatly missed as Liverpool continued to squander opportunities, which only served to increase their dissatisfaction.
Carragher summarized the game on The Gary Neville Podcast, saying, “I think there’s a great chance they are coming away with three points if Diogo Jota is on the pitch for Liverpool today.” It’s challenging to refute his theory.
The good news is that another one of Klopp’s much-missed talents is scheduled to join Jota when he returns to training this week. Trent Alexander-Arnold ought to return to action shortly as well, and it wouldn’t be a stretch to say he might have made an impact versus United.
After all, he has already had a significant impact on matches this season versus City and Arsenal. One of Klopp’s game-changers, the academy graduate may have had a significant effect on a different matter that Carragher took up.
The former defender expressed regret over the “chaos” that pervaded Old Trafford. This season, that has frequently benefited Liverpool, but it is reasonable to say that United’s inability to maintain composure allowed them to get back into the game.
Perhaps the Reds would have put on a more confident performance if Alexander-Arnold had been in charge of the team, particularly in the middle of the pitch where the hosts’ acres of space would have been ideal for the Reds’ number 66.
But now that the United match is over, Liverpool’s only option is to attempt to win the seven league games it still has left. Their two players, Jota and Alexander-Arnold, will make amends at Old Trafford.
