Amad’s late goal earns Man Utd draw in thriller at Liverpool.
Amad scored the equaliser as Manchester United fought back in a thrilling 2-2 draw with Premier League leaders Liverpool at Anfield, halting their three-match losing run.
Arsenal’s 1-1 draw at Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday gave Liverpool a chance to go eight points clear at the top, but Arne Slot’s hosts started slowly in freezing conditions and fell behind to Lisandro Martinez’s second-half strike.
Amad – the hero of United’s 2-1 win at Manchester City last month – tucked home with 10 minutes to play as the under-fire Red Devils earned an impressive point. The draw lifts Ruben Amorim’s side to 13th in the table, leapfrogging West Ham United, while Liverpool are six points clear of second-placed Arsenal with a match in hand.
Liverpool went close to scoring a brilliant team goal in the 14th minute, but Gakpo flicked wide after great approach play from Ryan Gravenberch, and then Andre Onana thwarted Alexis Mac Allister at his near post.
Seven minutes into the second half, United led from another attack down that flank. Trent Alexander-Arnold’s loose ball was cut out by Martinez, who exchanged passes with Bruno Fernandes before firing in off the crossbar. United’s lead lasted just seven minutes, though, as Gakpo brilliantly turned De Ligt on the left side of the area before blasting into the top-right corner.
Eleven minutes later, Alexander-Arnold’s cross was flicked onto the outstretched arm of De Ligt, with Michael Oliver awarding the spot-kick following a pitchside VAR review, allowing Salah to coolly convert. However, Liverpool could not press home their advantage as substitute Alejandro Garnacho raided down the left to tee up Amad, who tucked his low finish beyond Alisson.
Conor Bradley struck the outside of the post but United had the best chance to win it, Harry Maguire somehow lifting over a gaping goal in the seventh minute of stoppage time. Sunday’s match was thrown into doubt when heavy snowfall struck Merseyside and, for much of the contest, it seemed the cold weather might have got to Liverpool’s stars.
Aside from a two-minute blitz in which they created good opportunities for both Gakpo and Mac Allister, the league leaders failed to turn up the heat in the first half. Slot’s half-time team talk failed to have the revitalising effect the home fans desired with Alexander-Arnold – who struggled all match – guilty of a mistake in the build-up to Martinez’s opener.
Gakpo’s quickfire equaliser stirred Liverpool into life and the Anfield crowd were in fine voice when Salah gave them the advantage. However, the Reds’ frailties on the right continued to show, and it was no surprise when United’s equaliser came via another raid down that side.
While they were undoubtedly aided by Liverpool producing one of their most tepid displays of the season, United showed plenty of fight to reduce the Anfield crowd to groans of frustration, and they had already passed up several good chances before Martinez put them ahead. Amad was guilty of one such miss midway through the first half, sending an awkward header away from goal when found unmarked at the back post.
However, the 22-year-old, who has been the standout player of the Amorim era to date, kept plugging away and provided the moment of the match, peeling away from his marker to sweep Garnacho’s cross home in the 80th minute. Things could have been even better for United, had Maguire not shot over the crossbar when teed up by Joshua Zirkzee deep into stoppage time.
While Amorim has not enjoyed an ideal start to his United tenure, he can at least point to battling results at both the Etihad Stadium and Anfield as he sets about rebuilding the Premier League’s fallen giants. With bottom club Southampton up next at Old Trafford on 16 January, he will surely be confident of building some momentum.
Manchester United remain winless in their last 10 away matches against Liverpool in all competitions (D5 L5), their longest ever such run. However, they scored as many goals today as their previous 10 such away matches at Anfield combined beforehand.
Lisandro Martinez was the first Man Utd player to score at Anfield since Jesse Lingard in December 2018, ending the club’s run of five successive visits without a goal away to Liverpool in the Premier League.
Salah has 18 goals and 13 assists in 19 Premier League matches this season, the most goal involvements ever by a player in their first 19 appearances of a campaign in the competition, overtaking Luis Suarez’s 30 in 2013/14 (23 goals, 7 assists).
Source: premierleague.com