LONDON – Liverpool failed to return to the top of the table after a 2-2 draw at Old Trafford as rivals Manchester United did their bit to try and derail the Reds’ quest to send off Jurgen Klopp with an English Premier League title and go level with United on 20 league crowns.
They are behind Arsenal on goal difference, with both teams locked on 71 points. Champions Manchester City are a further point adrift.
It was an end-to-end start to the match on April 7, with the home team having a goal by Alejandro Garnacho disallowed after two minutes when the Argentinian strayed just offside.
From then on though, all the action in the first 45 minutes came at the opposite end as United failed to register a shot.
The last time they did not record a shot in the first half of a Premier League game was in April 2022, during a 4-0 defeat by the Reds.
Liverpool, meanwhile, had 15 first-half shots, four of them on target as the Red Devils continued to allow opponents to pepper their goal with shots.
Before the game, the Red Devils had faced 526 shots in the Premier League, more than any of the past 20 full seasons since Opta began keeping records.
The Reds opened the scoring on 23 minutes when Darwin Nunez escaped the attentions of Aaron Wan-Bissaka from a corner and headed the ball on to an unmarked Luis Diaz, who finished past Andre Onana.
Liverpool should have gone into the break with more than a one-goal lead as only Onana kept United in the game with saves from Dominik Szoboszlai and Mohamed Salah.
Klopp told Sky Sports: “We should have won the game, that is clear. We should have had other goals in the first half already. No shots in the first half and 1-0 is the lowest we could expect.
“We had big chances before and after they scored.”
It was a similar story to the teams’ FA Cup quarter-final clash in March, when United took advantage of the Reds’ profligacy to sneak a 4-3 win.
And so it seemed again at the start of the second half on April 7, when United scored with their first shot of the match.
Bruno Fernandes pounced on a loose pass by Jarell Quansah just inside the Liverpool half in the 50th minute and launched a first-time shot over a stranded Caoimhin Kelleher for his 50th Premier League goal.
Liverpool’s second-half nightmare continued on 67 minutes when Kobbie Mainoo received a pass into the box by Wan-Bissaka with his back to goal and proceeded to swivel and launch a curling shot into the top corner.
But as it was in the defeat by Chelsea in midweek, United conceded a needless late penalty after Wan-Bissaka brought Harvey Elliott down in the box.
Salah stepped up and scored from the spot.
Mainoo told Sky Sports: “Disappointed to be honest. I think we performed really well in the second half. The lads made minor mistakes and if we iron them out then we win the game.
“It’s an unbelievable feeling to score my first Old Trafford goal and to do it in this fixture was even more special. We didn’t get the three points and that’s the main thing.”
