Featured Image Credit: Getty
Topics: Manchester United, Liverpool, Football, Premier League, Erik Ten Hag
Rory O'Callaghan
Topics: Manchester United, Liverpool, Football, Premier League, Erik Ten Hag
Manchester United produced one of their worst-ever first-half performances against Liverpool in their Premier League clash on Sunday.
United travelled to face their bitter rivals at Anfield, with 10 points separating the two sides in the Premier League table.
Liverpool started the day top of the league and were heavy favourites heading into the match.
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Jurgen Klopp's side thrashed United 7-0 in the same fixture last season and were expected to produce a similar performance against the Red Devils.
However, both sides struggled to created clear-cut chances in the first half, which featured four yellow cards but only three shots on goal.
All those efforts on target came from the home side, with United unable to provide an attacking threat.
A shocking stat emerged at half-time which reflected how poorly United's performance had been.
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Erik ten Hag's side managed just a single touch inside of Liverpool's area in the entire half.
It is the joint-fewest they've had in the first half of a Premier League game since Opta data was first recorded in 2008/09.
To make matters worse for United, six Liverpool players individually managed to have more touches in the opposition area - Virgil van Dijk, Darwin Nunez, Ibrahima Konate, Mohamed Salah, Luis Diaz and Ryan Gravenberch.
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Speaking at half-time, former United captain Roy Keane expressed his concern for the visitors.
"There's been a lack of quality from Liverpool but United also have to be careful," Keane said on Sky Sports.
"There is no point going patting themselves on the back for how well they’ve done.
"The hard bit is to come in the second half, there will be a lot more pressure. Liverpool will up the ante, we've seen their record.
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"They’ve got good players that can come off the bench. We just need to see a bit more from United. They've got a good foothold in the game but we need more from an attacking point of view."