Liverpool 1 Manchester United 0: Ouch.. that hurts!!!

Never mind if they said Liverpool took their chances well, got the lucky break and hang on their life for it. Or, David Moyes saying Manchester United actually played well (in his words – “the best so far this season). Any defeat hurts – what more against Liverpool! Managers had in their stride, an ‘unspoken’ understanding on the need to protect their players – morally, after a defeat, or after an uninspiring performance. Quite rarely a manager would ‘tore’ into his team after a bad or unconvincing performance –although it does happen now and then (Paolo Di Canio of Sunderland just call his players ‘brainless and heartless’!!!).   Birthday boy Daniel Sturridge got his present – the one that matter to most football players on their birthday – scoring the winner against the most bitter of rivals. Fair enough he took his chances well. And with that Liverpool sits on top of the league table after three games – unbeaten, clean sheets and scalping one of the top club. But it is still early days to change the mind set of many football supporters on whether they can still be there in March, never mind in May. The Anfield club does however prove that they don’t need Luiz Suarez though.

 

For Manchester United, what is puzzling is the way David Moyes went for the match. Is he trying to play United the Alex Ferguson way? Or is he trying to play Moyes’ way (“it’s a personal jinx I have at Anfield and looks like I am not going to end it anytime soon). Is Moyes playing like he is still at Everton. Moyes must have known something many United;s supporters do not when selecting Ashley Young ahead of Antonio Valencia. It is true Young can be quite a potent attacking threats (threats only is not enough to win the game) but that boy lacks focus and is indecisive, gave away possession that leads to the early goal and on other occasions. And Young has one substitute appearance the week before at Old Trafford so selecting him ahead of Valencia is puzzling. Chasing the game at 0-1, Moyes needs to be brave, he did, with Nani and Javier Hernandez coming on – two players making their first appearance of the season. but the substitutions came rather late in the game, they should be on the moment United is still hot on attacks (the first quarter of the second half).

 

With Wayne Rooney out, Shinji Kagawa would be the best to play behind Robin Van Persie but he (Kagawa) did not even make the squad – so does Wilfred Zaha or Adnan Januzaj. While Zaha and Januzaj are inexperience in many ways they are also chances of ‘heroics’ debut – as demonstrate by Fredico Macheda few years ago at Villa Park. These are the type of decisions Alex Ferguson would make in situations that required ‘braveness’, regardless of whether it will backfire.

 

Losing to Liverpool hurts – full stop. David Moyes must gather his team, firstly by beating Liverpool at the Capital One Cup end of this month at Old Trafford, and with Manchester derby at Etihad and the Champions League coming up, the season will be in full swing after the World Cup qualifiers. Moyes must use his squad the way Fergie did (with or without further new signings). All United’s supporters now await the Crystal Palace game for Moyes’s first win at Old Trafford.