Liverpool snatch late draw at Manchester Utd but Klopp's men see record bid end
Liverpool salvaged a late draw against Manchester United at Old Trafford as Adam Lallana's 85th minute goal canceled out Marcus Rashford's opener but the visitors' bid for a record run of victories came to an end.
United took the lead thanks to a first-half goal from Marcus Rashford, who turned home a cross from the right from summer signing Daniel James.
Liverpool claimed there had been a foul by Victor Lindelof on Divock Origi in the build-up, but VAR deemed otherwise, while the Reds then had a Sadio Mane goal disallowed after he was adjudged by VAR to have handled the ball when bringing it down before scoring.
Jurgen Klopp’s team failed to show any sign of the form that saw them start the season with eight wins from eight, but salvaged a point thanks to substitute Lallana, who turned in an Andy Robertson cross from the left with five minutes left of the 90.
The draw maintained Liverpool's unbeaten start to the season, but their first dropped points of the campaign meant they could not equal Manchester City’s record run of 18 Premier League wins in a row, instead ending at 17.
Liverpool's 17-match win streak comes to an end with a 1-1 draw at Manchester United.
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) October 20, 2019
It was the second-longest winning streak in English top-flight history behind Manchester City (18 straight in 2017).
Liverpool is still unbeaten in its last 26 Premier League games. pic.twitter.com/X13vxzZ5bx
For Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, a victory over the club’s most bitter rivals seemed tantalisingly close after what had been United’s worst start to a league campaign in 30 years, although his team peformed far better than many had predicted ahead of the game.
Liverpool remain top of the league with 26 points from nine games - six ahead of Manchester City - while United sit 13th on 10 points, level with Everton.
After the clash at Old Trafford, much of the discussion centered on the use of VAR, while there was praise from former United boss Jose Mourinho for the spirit the home team showed, while many saw Liverpool - who were without the injured Mo Salah - as putting in one of their worst performances of the season.
Deserved lead for @ManUtd. As for VAR: disallowing goals for that nothing challenge would really destroy the game. Got to be for the howlers only.
— Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker) October 20, 2019
United’s goal came after a clear foul on Origi. Liverpool’s disallowed goal came after a clearly accidental use of an arm by Mane.
— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) October 20, 2019
VAR doesn’t just suck the life & passion out of football - it’s almost invariably wrong too. Get rid of it.
Mourinho: "Ole & United after such fantastic effort will be disappointed with one mistake & two points that they lost. I asked for heart, they had more than that. They stuck to the game plan. If i were Ole, I'd be proud & frustrated because the boys gave everything.” #mufc [Sky]
— United Xtra (@utdxtra) October 20, 2019
Worst Liverpool performance since Napoli (a) last season. Excruciatingly bad. Found mid-game suggestions relating to the team’s mentality very odd considering the run they’ve been on and what they’ve won in that period. Idea obliterated by the timing and manner of the equaliser.
— Simon Hughes (@Simon_Hughes__) October 20, 2019
Van Dijk tells @arlowhite pitchside at Old Trafford that Liverpool are "Disappointed - they [United] had a game plan and we didn't react to it, we didn't play well. We then changed our system and scored a well-deserved equaliser." #MUNLIV
— Chris Williams (@Chris78Williams) October 20, 2019