Manchester United and Liverpool drew 2:2 in the big derby of the 32nd round of the English Premier League. The Merseysiders were the better of the two teams for most of the match but ended up losing two points in the title race.
The match began with a disallowed goal by Alejandro Garnacho, who beat Caoimhin Kelleher, but the Argentinian's goal was rightly disallowed by VAR for offside. From then until the end of the first half, there was only one team on the field and that was Liverpool. Jurgen Klopp's men began to seriously press the opponent and created chance after chance, and in the 23rd minute their efforts were rewarded after the accurate intervention of Luis Diaz, who converted spectacularly after a deflected ball from Darwin Nunes. By the end of the half, only the good interventions of Andre Onana and the missed opportunities of the Merseysiders left the score 1:0 in favor of the visiting team.
After the break, however, the Red Devils were resurrected after a blunder by Jarrell Quansah, who sent a ball into the center of the fied. It was intercepted by Bruno Fernandes, who without any hesitation almost shot from the center into the goal vacated by Kelleher. Liverpool tried to regain the lead but Nunes made a big miss from close range. In the 67th minute, contrary to the logic of the whole game, Erik ten Haag's players came forward after an exceptional shot by the talented Kobbie Mainoo, who left no chances for Kelleher. In the following minutes, United were more active, while Liverpool were in shock. However, the visitors found a way to equalize in the 84th minute. Mohamed Salah then beat Onana from the penalty spot awarded for a foul on Aaron Wan-Bissaka on substitute Harvey Elliott. In stoppage time, Diaz fired over the bar from a good position as the two English giants shared the points in another showdown this season, after the Manchester United side eliminated their FA Cup rivals 4-3 after extra time last month.
Liverpool dropped two points in the title race, remaining second with 71 points - the same as leaders Arsenal, who, however, have a better goal difference than the Merseysiders. Champions Manchester City are in third position with 70 points. Manchester United are in sixth place with 49 points, 11 behind fourth-placed Aston Villa, who have a game in hand.
The Red Devils visit Bournemouth in the next round, while Liverpool host Crystal Palace after taking on Atalanta in their first quarter-final of the Europa League. /BGNES
