Liverpool 1-2 Manchester United: Premier League – as it happened

David Hytner’s match report

That’s all for today. Thanks for your company and emails, goodnight!

Harry Maguire missed a glorious chance in injury-time to give Man Utd a win at Anfield in January. Today he took a tougher opportunity – albeit one that was created by a fantastic cross from Bruno Fernandes.

You can’t dress up four defeats in a row but you can at least cover their modesty. Okay, you can place them in context. Liverpool conceded winning goals in injury time against Crystal Palace and Chelsea and after 84 minutes today, so it’s not as if – what did we do before metaphor – the wheels have come off as they did with Manchester City a year ago. Not yet anyway.

The last time Man Utd won at Anfield was January 2016, when the world was a very different place and… no, I can’t, it’s too depressing.

Look, it was a long time ago, that’s the key point here.

“Amorim out though, yeah?” writes Joshua Keeling.

Man Utd’s next game, since you asked, is at home to Brighton on Saturday.

Brighton have won their last three games at Old Trafford, so I’ve no idea what would constitute a surprise result in that one.

Liverpool have lost four in a row for the first time since November 2014 and are four points behind Arsenal. They were full of menace at times – Cody Gakpo hit the woodwork three times – and scruffy as hell at others, with Mo Salah a million miles short of his best. Fine margins and all that.

Harry Maguire pumps his fists and roars with delight, embraces his teammates and then gives Bruno Fernandes a never-ending hug. It’s a huge result for United, the first time they’ve won back-to-back league games under Ruben Amorim and symbolic affirmation of the cautious progress they are starting to make.

90+7 min Kerkez’s dangerous cross is cut out really well by Ugarte, sliding towards his own goal. Gakpo then dummies Wirtz’s low cross, United clear and Cunha is fouled. That’ll eat up another 30 seconds.

90+6 min There are two balls on the pitch so Wirtz gets rid of one to allow Liverpool to continue attacking. Man Utd are camped in their own box.

90+5 min Man Utd are three minutes away from their first win at Anfield in almost a decade.

90+3 min Nothing comes of it and Lammens is able to claim the ball before punting it aimlessly downfield. Back come Liverpool.

90+2 min Cunha heads behind for another Liverpool corner, their 422nd of the game. Szoboszlai’s corner is shanked by both Mbeumo and Dorgu, but there’s enough time for Dorgu to get the ball away.

For about 10 seconds, until Maguire heads behind for another cortner.

90+1 min There will be eight minutes of added time.

90 min Another superb cross from Frimpong is thighed behind by Dalot at the far post. Lammens comes for the corner and gets enough of it, with Cunha running the ball out of the area to safety.

88 min A dangerous free-kick from Mbeumo on the left is headed over by De Ligt. That looked a good chance as well, but there’s no time for a replay because Liverpool are back on the attack.

85 min: Liverpool substitution Jeremie Frimpong replaces Mo Salah, who had his worst game against Man Utd in a long time – certainly since Ashley Young pocketed him in March 2018, possibly ever.

85 min: Double substitution from Man Utd Leny Yoro and Kobbie Mainoo replace Luke Shaw and Bruno Fernandes.

Fernandes fired the corner into Mbeumo, whose shot from the edge of the area was blocked. The ball ricocheted back towards to Fernandes, who instantly sidefooted a brilliant volleyed cross towards the far post. Maguire pulled away from Konate, strained his neck muscles and planted an accomplished header back across Mamardashvili. He made that look far easier than it was.

83 min Sesko plays a neat pass through to Cunha, who is held up by Szoboszlai. His eventual shot deflects behind from a corner, from which…

82 min Liverpool are attacking with furious intent. There’s still a chance for United to win it, because Liverpool are so open, but at the moment it’s one-way traffic.

80 min If Van Dijk was at fault for Mbeumo’s goal, he made up for it with a superb challenge in the build up to the equaliser.

Incidentally, Jeremie Frimpong was about to replace Gakpo when he scored the equaliser. Frimpong is now sitting down.

Mbeumo was breaking from a Liverpool corner when Van Dijk wrapped his leg around to make an excellent challenge. Ekitike collected the loose ball and made straight for the United area. After a chaotic bit of play, playground stuff, Chiesa drove a low cross from the left side of the area that was turned into the empty net by Gakpo five yards out.

There was a check for offside but Gakpo was clearly onside.

75 min Man Utd have been poor on the ball since Liverpool switched to 4-2-4 in the 62nd minute; at the moment an equaliser looks more likely than a second for United. Jones surges into the area and drives a speculative left-foot shot that is held to his left by Lammens. Comfortable save.

74 min Jones nicks the ball off Fernandes and pushes it into the area towards Chiesa. His touch is slightly heavy – it wasn’t an easy ball to take – and Shaw makes a crucial, if desperate challenge.

72 min: Liverpool substitution Federico Chiesa replaces Alexander Isak, who had a relatively quiet game. His one big chance was a low shot across goal that Lammens kicked away with his right foot; Isak may feel he should have scored. If the bugger ever answers my WhatsApps, I’ll let you know.

71 min A nervy moment for Lammens. Dalot heads a cross up in the air and back towards his own goal. Lammens almost runs past the ball and has to jump backwards to grab it. All’s well that ends well.

70 min You have to admire Arne Slot for taking this much risk so early in the game. Federico Chiesa is about to come on as well. “He might play centre-back…” chirps Jamie Carragher on commentary.

69 min Ekitike leads a Liverpool break, cutting inside from the left before rifling wide from the edge of the area. That wasn’t a bad chance either.

This game is so open; there’s no chance it will end 1-0.

68 min “I think Slot’s smart to take Alexis Mac Allister off,” writes Kári Tulinius. “He’s been poor this season and Liverpool play better when he’s off the field. He doesn’t get on the ball as much as he did last season, and when he does, it slows the team down. Last season he was crucial at controlling games once Liverpool had taken the lead, but now he seems indecisive.”

Before the game, Jamie Carragher said he hadn’t been the same since an injury in the second half of last season.

66 min Van Dijk volleys a United cross into the face of Kerkez and over the bar. That could have gone anywhere too.

64 min Ekitike fires over from distance after a fine run infield from the left, the kind that gets a home crowd going.

63 min Dorgu plays a sharp square pass into the area for Fernandes, whose left-foot shot is well blocked by Konate. These are the revised line-ups.

Liverpool (4-2-4) Mamardashvili; Szoboszlai, Konate, van Dijk, Kerkez; Wirtz, Jones; Salah, Isak, Ekitike, Gakpo.

Man Utd (3-4-2-1) Lammens; De Ligt, Maguire, Shaw; Dalot, Ugarte, Fernandes, Dorgu; Mbeumo, Cunha; Sesko.

62 min: Triple substitution for Liverpool Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitike and Curtis Jones replace Conor Bradley, Ryan Gravenberch and Alexis Mac Allister.

Liverpool are going for it – Szoboszlai has moved to right-back, Wirtz is playing in centre midfield.

61 min: Man Utd substitution Benjamin Sesko replaces Mason Mount, so Cunha will move to No10.

60 min Salah beats Dorgu to a loose ball just outside the area and pokes it to Mac Allister, who drives over the bar under pressure. Pretty good effort but never troubling Lammens.

60 min These are the revised line-ups.

Liverpool (4-2-3-1) Mamardashvili; Bradley, Konate, Van Dijk, Kerkez; Gravenberch, Mac Allister; Salah, Szoboszlai, Gakpo; Isak.

Man Utd (3-4-2-1) Lammens; De Ligt, Maguire, Shaw; Dalot, Ugarte, Fernandes, Dorgu; Mbeumo, Mount; Cunha.

59 min: Man Utd substitutions In fact it’s a double change. Manuel Ugarte and Patrick Dorgu replace Casemiro and Amad Diallo, who was excellent on the ball but became vulnerable after that yellow card.

57 min Casemiro is booked for a brazen but necessary tactical foul on Salah. He’s struggling with cramp as well and is about to be replaced.

56 min I said Gakpo hit the post three times. That’s essentially true but strictly speaking I think the second time – the deflected cross - would have been a Bruno Fernandes goal had the ball gone in.

54 min Gakpo’s deep, inswinging corner from the left is volleyed into the ground and over the bar by Salah. He saw it late because Van Dijk was jumping in front of him; it was still a decent chance for a player of his etc.

52 min Dalot is booked for a foul on Gakpo. He took the ball with a sliding tackle but was punished for a studs-up follow-through. The Sky co-commentators Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville both think he’s very unfortunate.

51 min Gravenberch needs treatment after twisting his ankle when fouled by Mbeumo. Gravenberch’s grimace suggests his afternoon could be over.

47 min “The dreamer in me knows how this game will end: two sublime pearlers from Florian Wirtz followed by a Rio Ngumoha volley off the crossbar and in. The realist in me knows a Bruno Fernandes penalty in the 89th minute will make it 2-0 to the Ref Devils.”

It depends which band you’ve been listening to: Livin’ Joy or The Cribs?

46 min Liverpool get the second half under way.

No substitutions yet.

“Greetings from sunny and breezy California!” says Peter Oh. “My biggest concern is that this match, so far, has been a huge step backwards in terms of computing technology. Generative Al (Alexander Isak) hasn’t delivered on its promise, and Man United have got their tails up like it’s Y2K!”

Half-time reading

Man Utd through a startlingly early goal from Bryan Mbeumo. Both teams came close in a scruffy but compelling half. Cody Gakpo and Bruno Fernandes hit the post at either end, then combined in advertently to do so again when Gakpo’s cross deflected off Fernandes, over Senne Lammens and off the far post.

Lammens saved well from Alexander Isak; at the other Giorgi Mamardashvili made an old-school centre-half’s challenge to deny Mbeumo a second.

45+2 min Mbeumo’s goal was timed at 62 seconds, which makes it the fastest in this fixture in the Premier League era.

The previous fastest was lost in the exploits of two fellas called Cantona and Fowler.

45+1 min Four minutes of added time.

45 min Bruno Fernandes curls a long pass towards Mbeumo, forcing Van Dijk to come across and clear. He shakes his head as he walks back to his position, presumably in disgust at how open Liverpool are defensively.

43 min Cunha curls well wide from distance – pretty similar, in fact, to the position from which he scored on this ground for Wolves last season.

40 min A free-kick from Fernandes, deep on the right, bounces up awkwardly and is sliced onto the roof of own net by Gakpo. He could have had a hat-trick!

The resulting corner is missed by Mamardashvili, who looks surprisingly uncomfortable, and headed clear by Konate on the line. I don’t know whether it was going in or not but Mamardashvili was certainly out of the game.

38 min “That penalty appeal for the Amad ‘handball’ would have stopped the game for at least five minutes up here,” writes Simon McMahon. “Then, depending on the eventual outcome, there would have been a week’s worth of media coverage about ‘agendas’ and how there’s a conspiracy against Celtic Rangers whoever.

“Honestly, all I want from football is to see Dundee United win the Scottish Cup again in my lifetime with my daughter, Evie. That seems realistic and not too much to ask, right? Though Dundee haven’t won the Scottish since 1910, so, you know. But they did beat Celtic today, leaving Hearts five points clear at the top. I really hope the Jam Tarts don’t have to go to Dens on the last day needing just a point...”

37 min This is a good spell for Liverpool, probably their best in terms of sustained pressure.

35 min: Chance for Isak! Konate shapes a fantastic long pass around Shaw and into the path of Isak, whose shot on the run is kicked away at the near post by Lammens. There’s an argument he should have come off his line to beat Isak to the ball, but having stayed at home he made a really good save and is being congratulated by his teammates.

34 min “Hey, guys,” writes Matt Dony, “have I ever told you how much I hate football? Like, really hate it! This is not fun. I’m watching the match while playing pool with my son, who is currently (and unprecedentedly) 3-0 up. This is looking like a bad day. I regret allowing a drunk AI to write an email on my behalf.”

29 min Dalot’s poor clearance goes straight to Isak on the edge of the area; he controls it smartly only to mishit his shot well wide.

This is a flawed but fascinating game.

26 min Mac Allister’s low shot from 20 yards is comfortably saved by Lammens. That’s the first shot on target at either end apart from the goal, though both teams have hit the post.

19 min “All Arsenal fans will gratefully accept Matt Dony’s kind award of the Premier League title,” says Charles Antaki. “Or they would do, had they not been hampered by the original sin of Doubt. There will, as is the Arsenal way, be more injuries, dodgy penalties and fluffed sitters for any award to be dreamt of pro-tem. But, for the moment, viva United.”

18 min: Liverpool penalty appeal turned down Gakpo’s cross shot hits the left arm of Amad, who was in the process of turning away from the ball, and the home crowd scream for a penalty. Michael Oliver waves play on and VAR decides his arm was in a natural position.

Amad’s right arm was miles away from his body – had the ball hit that it would have been a penalty.

18 min No sign of panic or nervousness from Liverpool, who are probing patiently whenever they have the ball. After one such move, Bradley’s low cross is lumped clear by Maguire.

Moments later, Isak’s cutback from the byline is taken off a Liverpool toe, possibly that of Mac Allister, by Shaw. That was an important touch.

16 min Amad sprays a crossfield pass out to Dalot on the left wing,, only for Bradley to nip in and steal the ball. United were in a promising position there but Dalot’s touch was slightly too heavy.

14 min Salah’s free-kick form the inside-left channel is headed wide by the diving Van Dijk beyond the far post. A very tough chance; I doubt even Keith Houchen would have scored.

12 min Depending on which team you support, Mo Salah has so far been a) worryingly quiet or b) too quiet.

If you’re a neutral, he has been c) quiet.

9 min The game is yet to settle down, which feels odd to say when a goal has already been scored. But Liverpool, stung by that early goal, are starting to find a bit of rhythm.

6 min “Regression to the norm” is the subject of Matt Dony’s latest email. I’ll let you decide whether it’s from the real Matt Dony or the AI version.

Can I be the first person to congratulate Arsenal on their historic League Title.

4 min Mac Allister is having his head bandaged and will be okay to continue. Liverpool have a case and under normal circumstances play would stopped. In this case I don’t think anybody – the referee Michael Oliver included – realised until after the goal had been scored that Mac Allister had a head injury.

3 min Mac Allister stayed down after the United goal. He was caught on the head when Van Dijk and Mbeumo jumped for a header in the build-up. It may have been Van Dijk who caught him but Liverpool’s argument is that play should stop whenever there’s a head injury.

Goodness me, what a start.Van Dijk’s towering defensive header was collected in the centre circle by Fernandes, who pushed it out to Amad on the right. Van Dijk was slightly slow to recover and Mbeumo scooted past him into the area. Amad threaded a perfectly weighted ball into his path and Mbeumo clipped it past Mamardashvili with his right foot. That’s a smart first-time finish – and a stunning start to the game.

1 min Bryan Mbeumo gets the game under way with United kicking from left to right as we watch.

We’re seconds away from kick-off. Here’s a quick reminder of the teams.

Liverpool (4-2-3-1) Mamardashvili; Bradley, Konate, van Dijk, Kerkez; Gravenberch, Mac Allister; Salah, Szoboszlai, Gakpo; Isak.

Subs: Woodman, Gomez, Wirtz, Chiesa, Jones, Ekitike, Robertson, Frimpong, Ngumoha.

Man Utd (3-4-2-1) Lammens; De Ligt, Maguire, Shaw; Diallo, Casemiro, Fernandes, Dalot; Mbeumo, Mount; Cunha.

Subs: Bayindir, Mazraoui, Zirkzee, Dorgu, Yoro, Ugarte, Heaven, Sesko, Mainoo.

Referee Michael Oliver.

“It’s not even 11:30 here,” writes Joe Pearson, “but I’ll have some of whatever AI Matt Dony is drinking.”

A drunk AI Dony will never be as entertaining as the real thing.

While it’s not exactly writes-your-scripts territory, Alexander Isak would love to score his first Premier League goal for Liverpool this afternoon.

Arne Slot’s pre-match thoughts

I cannot criticise the players’ work-rate [in recent weeks] But there are one or two moments in games that have killed us; that’s where we need to do better.

[How can you win the game tactically?] It depends partly on how they set up. We’ve seen them play with Sesko multiple times and they go to Liverpool and change the line-up. Let’s wait to see what they do – it could mean Mason Mount plays as a 10 in a 5-3-2 rather than the normal 5-2-3. We’ll find out when the game starts.

[Ibrahima Konate] came back from the national team because he felt his back. He trained with the team Friday and it was clear he could play today.

An alternative formbook

Tim de Lisle of the excellent Substack United Writing points out that, while Liverpool have won all five games at Anfield, this season, United have won none out of four away from home. Two draws, two defeats – and one those draws was the Grimsby fiasco.

This email was signed by ‘Matt Dony’. Regular readers of our Liverpool liveblogs will know it has been written by an AI FRAUD.

Feeling pretty good. Three points in the bag. Salah is going to rediscover last year’s form. Wirtz will come on after an hour and tear the place up. Gakpo will bury a screamer from 25 yards. 4-0. Boom.

Ruben Amorim’s pre-match thoughts

In our club the next game is always the most important, the one that can change the mindset of everyone. But if we think one game is important than another [because it’s Liverpool], that is a big mistake.

[On his team selection] I don’t want to say a lot before the game. But Harry Maguire has a lot of experience, Liverpool [put in] a lot of crosses and he gives us more power at set-pieces, which is really important these days in the Premier League.

Cunha has one characteristic that can help us push the team forward. Van Dijk likes confrontations in the air so we will try to give them different things [to deal with].

[On Senne Lammens, who is playing his first away game for Man Utd] It’s a different game but I think he is ready. Everyone is ready We have to be focussed on the task.

‘Ten years, man’

Given Mo Salah’s recent form (poor) and record against Man Utd (peerless), we may well hear the phrase “Who else?” at some point this afternoon. Opta’s supercomputer reckons there’s a 74.19 per cent chance.

“And Michael Oliver has pointed to the spot…”

“I struggle to understand the contention that Manchester United are playing ‘slightly better than their results would suggest’,” says Eric Peterson. “Their three wins are against two promotees (Burnley and Sunderland) and a Chelsea reduced to 10 men for 85 minutes of the game. Rather, I would suggest it’s quite clear that Manchester United’s record flatters to deceive.”

Plenty of people, including disciples of data, think they have played slightly better than their results suggest. It’s fine to disagree – this is a blog, not a judicial review – but come on, phrases like ‘I struggle to understand’ and ‘It’s quite clear’ are unnecessarily reductive.

Read Jonathan Wilson on Mo Salah, Florian Wirtz and the dangers of foresight

Benjamin Sesko is on the bench today, but that won’t stop the moronic nonsense. If anything…

Video: Why are Liverpool playing worse despite breaking transfer records?

Florian Wirtz stays on the bench for Liverpool, with Arne Slot picking the same XI that started the defeat to Chelsea a fortnight ago. Liverpool began that game really well before losing their way.

Matheus Cunha replaces Benjamin Sesko up front for Manchester United, presumably because of his superior ball-carrying ability. Harry Maguire for Leny Yoro is the only other change from their 2-0 win over Sunderland.