United View: Can United build on Liverpool win?

For any team, playing at Anfield has been a daunting challenge, but for Manchester United especially, getting a result away to Liverpool has been a significant struggle, even their glory years. 

And it cannot be understated just how pivotal Sunday’s win could be in transforming Ruben Amorim’s United.

Concerns were raised going into the match surrounding the decision to exclude Benjamin Sesko and Leny Yoro for Matheus Cunha and Harry Maguire. 

In the end, those calls came up trumps for United.

The Reds opted to avoid building out from the back, instead going long and direct, looking to win second balls with a mobile front three of Cunha, Mason Mount and Bryan Mbuemo. 

After a minute, the game plan was in full effect when a long ball, headed down by Virgil Van Dijk, was picked up in the midfield, eventually leading to Mbeumo smashing home the opener at the Kop End.

Scoring so early must have given United belief and striking anxiety into a Liverpool side looking to avoid a fourth straight defeat in all competitions. 

And had Amorim’s men been more clinical in the first half, they could have had two or three.

Liverpool pushed heavily for an equaliser and after already striking the post three times, Cody Gakpo did just that. 

There would have been times that United would fold under this level of pressure; on Sunday, they did not.

Tactics will only get you so far in a game of this magnitude; it’s about how you deal with the onslaught and take opportunities when they present themselves. 

Up step Harry Maguire at the back post to head United back in front. 

If anyone has shown they can deal with adversity, it’s him, with yet another crucial goal for the club.

Winning against Liverpool is important for any United manager, especially for Ruben Amorim, breaking the jinx of not winning back-to-back Premier League games, at the home of the title holders no less. 

His side may have lost control in the second half, but they showed courage when it would have been easy to wilt.

After the game, Amorim tried not to get sucked up in the excitement, when asked if it’s the biggest when as his time as Manchester United manager, he said, “It means [a lot] today, but tomorrow it’s not going to mean a lot.”

After so many setbacks during his time at Old Trafford, it’s no wonder he’s already focused on Brighton. 

United need to squeeze this win for all it’s worth and build momentum in a league where second place and twelfth place is only separated by five points.

Sunday has shown they can get a result in a big game, but a defeat to the Seagulls could feel like one step forward, two steps back. 

However, another win would only elevate belief around the club.

If they are to do just that, they need to be solid, and once again, Senne Lammens provided just that against Liverpool, doing exactly what you expect of a goalkeeper at the top level. 

Had he been in since the start of the season, United may have picked up more points along the way.

For now, at least, the club has been given a much-needed boost and, for the first time in a decade, can celebrate a win at Anfield. 

Hopefully it can be the moment everything changes, because if this isn’t the start of the liftoff of Manchester United’s season, then it’s hard to see what else will.