A draw can mean a lot of different things for the two teams involved in it. Given what most people expected heading into the Sunday showdown between Manchester United and Liverpool at Old Trafford, it’s kind of a win for the hosts. Everybody expected the visitors to come in and rout the hosts, so the Red Devils really got a moral victory in salvaging a point here.
Of course, the way it happened doesn’t exactly inspire as much positivity for Red Devils supporters, as they were just five minutes, plus extra time, from taking all three points when Adam Lallana equalized. And for the Reds, it was a goal that certainly provided a sense of relief.
Let’s take a look at where both sides go from here now with another edition of this arch-rivalry in the books.
What this result now means for Liverpool
Jurgen Klopp still remains winless at Old Trafford as Liverpool boss. Also, his side’s run at history is now over.
A win today would have matched Manchester City’s record 18 consecutive top-flight victories. Instead, the title race just narrowed, and the Reds’ run at a perfect season came to an end. Today marked the first time this season that Liverpool dropped points, the very last team to do so.
The spread at the top of the table was cut to six, due to Manchester City’s 2-0 win at Crystal Palace yesterday. Also, City are +6 on Liverpool in goal differential, so the Reds certainly don’t want to end up level on points with the reigning domestic treble holders.
What this result now means for Manchester United
The result means it is now officially United’s worst start to a season since 1986, the year that saw Sir Alex Ferguson replace Ron Atkinson, but the heat on manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer certainly eased a bit after this game.
They’re only 13th in the table, just two points on level with the drop zone. Also, you have to give credit to OGS, his switch to a back three instead of a back four seemed to work in stifling Liverpool, at least until very late in the match. Credit the Norweigan for sticking to this plan even when he had to sub out an injured Axel Tuanzebe for Marcos Rojo just before the match started.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” regularly appears on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
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