- Lingard subs on, off as United uses all 3 subs before half
- Liverpool goes atop table
- Reds manage just one shot on target
With the odds in its favor at Old Trafford, Liverpool’s attack was tepid in a scoreless draw with Manchester United on Sunday.
The draw pushes the Reds a point clear of Manchester City in the race for the Premier League title.
United drops into fifth with its 52nd point of the season.
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Liverpool earned the first bit of danger, when David De Gea had to deal with Ashley Young‘s poor pass and gave away an early free kick which came to nothing.
Marcus Rashford slipped in hitting a shot toward Alisson Becker in the seventh minute.
An unlikely source won a dangerous free kick for Liverpool, as Joel Matip’s fine dribble saw Ander Herrera foul the Cameroonian defender outside the box.
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United was hit with another midfield injury as Ander Herrera joined Nemanja Matic on the sideline, meaning the Red Devils midfield was Scott McTominay, Andreas Pereira, Juan Mata, and Paul Pogba with 70-plus minutes to play.
Then Mata was felled! Unreal scenes, with Jesse Lingard coming into the match despite Ole Gunnar Solskjaer‘s pre-match comments that he wasn’t fit for a 90-minute grind. Well, how about 64?
Paul Pogba tore into a right-footed effort that Virgil Van Dijk headed out for a corner in the 37th, and the big center back dealt with the set piece, too.
Alisson then made a terrific sliding intervention when Lukaku fooled Van Dijk to slip Lingard on goal.
United had to use its third sub in the 42nd minute, as Lingard limped off the pitch.
Alexis Sanchez replaced him, and promptly found Lukaku at the back post. Alisson collected the resulting header.
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1 – Jesse Lingard is the first player to be substituted on and off in the first half of a Premier League match since Kevin Long for Burnley v Newcastle United in January 2015. Fleeting. #MUNLIV pic.twitter.com/qdA0maywSS
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) February 24, 2019
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A second half free kick saw Pogba nod tamely to Alisson, but the Frenchman was offside as well.
Georginio Wijnaldum missed a headed chance off a 70th minute corner, and a second corner went for nought when Joel Matip couldn’t turn the ball on frame. Scott McTominay was the marker in both cases, and both players called for penalties against the Scotland international.
Matip conceded an own goal on a Luke Shaw free kick, then exhaled deeply when the offside flag was raised.
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