For the second time this year, Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool failed to win at Old Trafford despite looking in total control. But this was a far cry from the total chaos of their FA Cup tie, and needed a disaster from Jarell Quansah to allow Manchester United back into the game.
However, while many may point the fingers at the young centre-back, Liverpool's real problem lay in a decision made prior to kick-off. Adam Clery looks at the game to see if this could be the mistake that costs Liverpool the league...
However, while many may point the fingers at the young centre-back, Liverpool's real problem lay in a decision made prior to kick-off. Adam Clery looks at the game to see if this could be the mistake that costs Liverpool the league...
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00:00Alright, so this is the Liverpool side that started against Manchester United and the
00:06only way I could describe their first half performance would be to use some incredibly
00:10violent and borderline problematic imagery.
00:13Now you may recall just a few short weeks ago this Liverpool side went to Old Trafford
00:17in the FA Cup and the description I had at the time was that they were about as open
00:22as Will Smith's marriage.
00:23But Jurgen Klopp, ever the student of the game to quote Roy Keane, clearly learned from
00:27this and set them up this weekend in a way that was far more likely to exploit Manchester
00:31United's big weaknesses and not leave them as vulnerable to the kind of open transitional
00:37game which is the only time Man Utd ever looked good.
00:40And the main way Klopp looked to address this was by making it very difficult for Man Utd
00:44to press them and pulling certain players into areas where they metaphorically just
00:49wither and die.
00:50Now Man Utd, like a lot of teams, will try and press you in a 4-4-2 shape, will just
00:54overlay some of the key players there.
00:56So what Liverpool decided to do, rather than moving the defence around to get extra numbers
01:00in this area, they instead dropped McAllister into sort of a double pivot with Endo.
01:05And what this means is that Liverpool had a lot of control of the ball in quite a deep
01:09area of the pitch.
01:10Like normally they would invert a full back and they'd have someone here instead so Man
01:13Utd can defend a bit deeper, but by having that control with the defenders and two midfielders,
01:18they've got to push up on you a lot more.
01:21The main problem this caused for Man Utd is that Hoyland couldn't press both of these
01:24two centre-backs, so Fernandes had to join them and by him jumping forward one, that
01:29then pulled Casemiro to make sure they weren't leaving a two-on-one here.
01:33And straight away you can see why that was so effective because now you've got Dominic
01:36Sapozlai just having a party all his own in the space behind Casemiro who, if you've watched
01:42him play any football at all this season, he is going to struggle to cover all this
01:47area.
01:48So I'm not saying the guy's legs have gone, no I am, I am actually, yeah, his legs have
01:52completely gone.
01:53And you can see how effective that was like in his heat map, Sapozlai was normally the
01:56right-sided number 8, but look at how frequently he was able to get into sort of central areas
02:02of the pitch.
02:03Like obviously he did a lot of his work out here in the build-up and whatnot, but when
02:05Liverpool were able to create the scenario to isolate Casemiro, create that space, Sapozlai
02:10was just having a field day in there.
02:12And with Salah and Diaz pinning the two full-backs nice and high up, it meant that Harry Maguire
02:16either had to completely sit off him and let him have the ball, or push out onto him and
02:21leave like an 8-year-old centre-back he was in there with completely alone with Darwin
02:25Nunes.
02:26To the shock of absolutely no one, Liverpool finished the half with, just here's some select
02:30stats I've found on the internet, they battered them, they dominated them, they put their
02:37face in their own birthday cake and laughed as their hair caught fire on a candle.
02:41So what the hell, Adam, what's your problem, where do you get off criticising Jurgen Klopp?
02:45Clearly he's made a really good set of decisions here that led to them dominating the game,
02:50and he did.
02:51It's actually a really good way to set up, but the problem was that they went at a half-time
02:56only 1-0 up.
02:57Combination of wasteful finishing from Liverpool and also some good individual defending from
03:01Man United when they desperately needed it, meant that the game was still in the balance.
03:07This was effective, but it wasn't decisive.
03:09And the thing is, the mistake Jurgen Klopp made was not in this XI, it was in this XI,
03:16which looks slightly different because this was the side that lined up against Sheffield
03:20United during the week.
03:21And the problem is this man.
03:23Canarte is undoubtedly Liverpool's best defender, who is not currently called Virgil van Dijk,
03:29but he can't play more than one or two games in a week.
03:33They've got to be really careful managing his minutes, and he started against Sheffield
03:37United, but not here.
03:39Instead, Jurgen Klopp put his faith, as he has done several times this season, in Gerald
03:44Kwanzaa, who almost never lets Liverpool down.
03:46There's no real drop-off in terms of ability.
03:49Part of the reason they're still in this title race with the injury crisis they're having
03:52is because these young players have come in and done so well, and he deserves as much
03:56credit as anybody for them being where they are.
03:59But the problem with him is that he is 21 years old, spent last season at Bristol Rovers,
04:04and up until the start of this year, had only started two Premier League games for Liverpool.
04:09And if you think I'm about to start digging him out there and saying that he cost Liverpool
04:12this game and his mistake could be so decisive in the title race, that's not where I'm going
04:17with this at all.
04:17I thought he was really good in the Man United game.
04:20I thought he recovered from that mistake so, so well.
04:23But the fact is, he did make it.
04:26With the score still at 1-0, and Liverpool understandably feeling very comfortable in
04:30the position they had in this game, they pushed on.
04:33They pushed further.
04:34They looked to get that second goal, but they took more risks in doing so.
04:39And then midway through the second half, Kwanzaa finds himself on the ball.
04:43There's no imminent danger, but he is being pressed by Rasmus Hoyland.
04:46He has a quick look, sees that Virgil van Dijk is an option, but in the few seconds
04:51between him seeing him and making the pass, the situation changes.
04:55Rasmus Hoyland has actually done brilliantly here to both press Kwanzaa and leave Endo
04:59in what is known as his shadow cover.
05:02He's not marking him, he's nowhere near him, but he has cut off the pass.
05:05So Fernandes knows there's no danger of it going here.
05:08So he jumps quickly from Endo to van Dijk.
05:11And van Dijk clearly recognises this situation here, even before it's happened.
05:15Because if you look at him, he is pointing all the way back to Kelleher.
05:18He's telling Kwanzaa, this isn't on anymore.
05:20You've got to go all the way back.
05:22But it's a big game and he is an inexperienced player.
05:26It's not his fault he makes this decision, but he does make it.
05:29The pass is a little bit short, but Bruno Fernandes is not a little bit good.
05:33First time he rifles this ball from fully 60 yards over Kelleher and into the back of the net.
05:40Now, I will say Kwanzaa could make that mistake 10 more times in his career.
05:44It's unlikely it would land at the feet of a player capable of doing that.
05:49But that's football, baby.
05:52So the question is, would Canate have made that mistake?
05:55And the answer is simply, nobody knows.
05:58That is the beauty of football.
06:00Canate is way more experienced.
06:02He's unlikely to make that decision, but he still could.
06:05Everybody's capable of dropping a bollock every now and then.
06:09Or he could score an own goal or he could do something even worse.
06:11He'd get himself sent off.
06:12We just don't know.
06:14But you play the probabilities.
06:16Kwanzaa's lack of Premier League experience relative to what Canate's got
06:21means he is more likely to make that mistake than his teammate is.
06:25Doesn't guarantee you anything, doesn't assure you of anything.
06:27But if one of them is going to do it, it's more likely to be the younger player.
06:31And the warning signs of this were there from the very start of the match, by the way.
06:35Like, I know Man United didn't officially have an attempt on goal in that first half,
06:38but they had a quite narrow-ish offside one ruled out that's created entirely
06:44by Kwanzaa getting isolated.
06:46When you've got Conor Bradley on this side,
06:47you know he's not going to come into the middle too much.
06:49He's going to push right the way up so Salah can get nearer the centre forward.
06:52So leaving this space here, you can see Kwanzaa gets attracted over into it.
06:57That in turn pulls Van Dijk into this sort of area,
07:00leaving all this space here that Garnaccio is able to get into.
07:04Again, does that happen if Canate is in the back four?
07:07We simply will never know.
07:08But I would argue it's less likely to happen if he is.
07:11Now just hang on, this is the internet,
07:13so I do feel the need to clarify this before we continue.
07:16If you've been watching 442 on YouTube this season, first of all, thank you.
07:20But you will know that we have heaped praise in bucket loads on Jurgen Klopp
07:25for the faith he has shown in these young players.
07:27And likewise, we have heaped praise bucket loads on these young players
07:32for how they have never let him down,
07:34how they have sustained Liverpool's title charge in this vital season.
07:39But what I just cannot get my head around, right,
07:42and if you're a Liverpool fan and you have an answer to this,
07:44I'm begging you, please explain it to me in the comments,
07:47is that the match prior to this, when Klopp felt the need to use Canate,
07:51wasn't some European crunch game or some like cup tie or some tricky away fixture.
07:57It was Sheffield United at home,
07:59which, no disrespect to Sheffield United,
08:01is mathematically Liverpool's easiest game of the season.
08:05They won it relatively comfortably and had 80% of the ball.
08:09Like if you're fairly sure you're gonna have to rotate Kwanzaa and Canate
08:13across two games in that short space of time,
08:17for the life of me, I can't figure out why you do it this way around
08:20and not have Canate start here instead.
08:22Now, look, maybe I'm being slightly unkind here,
08:26maybe I'm like catastrophizing that situation,
08:28but this feels like a Premier League title race.
08:31But look at the table, look how close this is.
08:34It's gonna come down to which of these teams
08:36just occasionally don't get things quite right.
08:40And this is a small thing, surely,
08:43like Kwanzaa was really steady other than this,
08:46but just feels like a situation that didn't have to happen
08:49and it's one Jurgen Klopp could have completely avoided.
08:52And the thing is as well,
08:53while it's only one mistake that led to one goal,
08:55and Liverpool should still have had way more about them
08:57to go on and win the game,
08:59this goal going in had a direct impact on the rest of the match,
09:03which enabled Man United to get ahead.
09:05Like you can see from the way Klopp set up at the start,
09:07he was determined to be very good at playing through Man United,
09:10but not being too open at the same time.
09:13And even when they were sort of operating this way
09:15with Salah sort of moving in and Bradley bombing up down that side,
09:19they were in a degree of control of the game
09:22because of the way they were set up here.
09:24But now the game is level
09:26and they were forced to push McAllister further and further up
09:29to get him involved in other areas to try and get that second goal.
09:33And as a result, in what might honestly be
09:36one of the most savage instances of poetic irony I've seen this season,
09:40it inadvertently turned Liverpool into Man United.
09:44Like as with the first goal, don't get me wrong,
09:46you let Man United have this exact scenario 100 times.
09:49I don't think they score too many of them,
09:52but it's a scenario created by Liverpool pushing up way too far
09:55and leaving that kind of trademark gap in the middle
09:58that Man United are known for.
09:59Casemiro blindly whacks the ball over his head.
10:02It could go absolutely anywhere,
10:03but it lands at the feet of Kobe Meunier
10:06and just look at the room he's managed to find between the lines.
10:10Like Endo is here because Endo is now having to cover
10:13the entire central area of the pitch.
10:15He's gone where the danger is correctly,
10:17but that's left a man unmarked.
10:20And yes, of course, there is loads that has to happen
10:22between Meunier getting the ball here
10:23and him sticking it in the back of the net,
10:25but it's a scenario that only exists in the first place
10:29because Liverpool are over-committing,
10:30they're over-stretching late in the game,
10:32when their legs are tired, they are leaving gaps.
10:34And why are they over-committing and over-stretching late in the game
10:36when legs are tired and leaving gaps?
10:38Because they gave away the lead in a really stupid way.
10:43And the caveats to all of this are numerous and obvious.
10:47Like if Liverpool just take their chances in the first half,
10:50that Kwanzaa pass doesn't really matter.
10:53If Keller has like five yards closer to his line,
10:55it probably doesn't matter.
10:56If it falls to the feet of anyone but Bruno Fernandes,
10:59it probably doesn't matter.
11:01But this is a title race of such fine margins,
11:06little things like this can prove fatal.
11:10I know I've already said this like five times as well,
11:13but I am not lumping the blame for this result
11:15in any way, shape or form at the feet of Gerald Kwanzaa.
11:19And it's just, you want good decisions to be made
11:23at these just crucial, crucial moments.
11:25And it's unfair to expect a player with his lack of experience
11:29to be able to make them all the time.
11:31I'll put it this way, right?
11:32If that exact same thing happened to Canarte,
11:35which it could very well do,
11:37the one thing all the commentators would have said
11:40is why is a player with his experience
11:43making that mistake?
11:44The implication there being,
11:46if you do not have that experience,
11:49it's totally fair to make those mistakes
11:51because that's the only way you learn.
11:53And the mad thing is,
11:54it almost doesn't even feel fair
11:56to give Klopp a hammering for this
11:58because he makes so many unbelievably,
12:01improbably good decisions.
12:03Like he's by a mile the best in-game manager
12:06in football right now.
12:08Just to show you two quick graphs here,
12:10this is the amount of goals Liverpool score late in games.
12:13And wow, that's a lot.
12:15And this is the amount of goals they get from substitutes.
12:18And if you've been watching them a lot this season,
12:20you will know that the vast majority of these
12:22are from changes he's made as the game has developed
12:25and he has recognized things here and there
12:27and he's adapted to get the best out of them.
12:29Like they even got one here.
12:31The Harvey Elliott introduction
12:32really did help open things up down that side
12:35and got them their equalizer.
12:36So it seems weird to be like,
12:39oh, he got this one badly wrong.
12:41But again, this Premier League is going to come down
12:44to these tiny little mistakes.
12:46And for the first time, I think he made one.
12:49So yes, am I being too harsh?
12:52I always try and find a really positive thing
12:53to talk about in games
12:54because fans like to hear what the team is doing well.
12:57But just analyzing this and watching it back,
12:59this is the one thing that really, really jumped out at me.
13:02They did not need to let Man United
13:05get back into this game at all.
13:07And the way they did came from something
13:09that felt completely avoidable.
13:12But to criticize, I have,
13:14and I know how the internet works.
13:15So I will gladly take my medicine in the comments
13:17if it is needed.
13:18Please let me know how decisive
13:20do you think that change was?
13:21Have I got that completely wrong?
13:22I haven't had a chance to talk about this game
13:23with anybody yet.
13:24So this could just be me.
13:26So I would like it to also be you in the thing below.
13:29And of course, you can subscribe to us here on 442
13:31where we do videos like this every most of the days
13:36when I can.
13:37The new issues of the mag is still upstairs.
13:39I've brought them down.
13:39So Liverpool fans, look Trent Alexander-Arnold
13:41is our cover star from last month.
13:43The interview is really good
13:44if you've not read it already.
13:44Check that out in all good newsagents.
13:47Although it won't be on sale anymore.
13:49Ask them.
13:50Maybe they have some in the back.
13:51You can subscribe to our newsletter
13:52which is also in the comments.
13:53That's very good.
13:54You can follow me on all the social medias
13:55at Adam Cleary, C-L-E-R-Y.
13:57The 442 social is in the corner of the video.
13:59And until whatever happens
14:02in the Man City and Arsenal Champions League games,
14:04I've been Adam Cleary.
14:06This has been 442.
14:07I still think you're great, Kwanzaa and Klopp.
14:10And I'll see you soon.
14:12Bye.
14:13Bye.