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FULL TIME: Manchester United 2-1 Liverpool
The whistle blows, and United get their first win of the season! They leapfrogged Liverpool up the table and Old Trafford rewards their heroes with the standing ovation they deserve!
90 min +4: … then wins a corner from the right. This is a master class in clock management.
90 min +3: Martial draws a foul in midfield…
90 min +2: Van de Beek gives Fabinho a hand in the center circle. United are doing a good job of stopping Liverpool’s pace and increasing any pressure.
90 min +1: The first of five added minutes sees Ronaldo fire over the bar from the edge of the Liverpool box. Martial then struggles to get past Tsimikas but can’t cut the ball over Alisson. And finally Malacia clips Elliott late, and is lucky not to go into the book.
Updated at 21.51 BST
90 min: Firmino chases Salah’s pass down the inside right. Malacia tackles, stepping onto Firmino’s line and taking control, flicking the ball wide for a goal kick. Carvalho hits the back of Martinez, who goes down gymnastic style.
88 min: Salah and Firmino try to cause trouble in the United box, but the ball goes wide for a goal kick. Varane comes down with cramps.
87 min: The game restarts and United sit down. It looks like the rest of this game will be offense versus defense. Liverpool ping him to little effect.
86 min: Changes today! Robertson makes way for Tsimikas, while the hosts make a triple change: Wan-Bissaka, Van de Beek and Ronaldo come on for Dalot, Eriksen and Rashford.
Cristiano Ronaldo eager to push forward. Photograph: Phil Noble/Reuters
Updated at 9.47pm BST
85 min: Salah wins a corner from the right. United does not clarify. Alexander-Arnold relieves the pressure on the suddenly nervous hosts by crashing aimlessly into the stands.
84 min: Eriksen tries to restore United’s two-goal cushion with a shot from distance. Disappear deep into Stretford End.
83 min: There’s a bit of childish banter between Salah, who wants a quick restart, and Fernandes, who doesn’t. Fernandes chests the ball. They fight. Fernandes claims to have been punched in the face. The ref tells them both to grow up.
Now, guys. Photograph: Simon Stacpoole/Offside/Getty Images
Updated at 9.45pm BST
GOAL! Manchester United 2-1 Liverpool (Salah 82)
United fail to clear the corner. Elliott has a speculative strike from the edge of the box. The ball has not been cleared again. Salah heads into the bottom right from close range, and out of nowhere, Liverpool are back at it!
Mohamed Salah heads home with a late Liverpool response. Photograph: Paul Ellis/AFP/Getty Images
Updated at 9.43pm BST
81 min: Alexander-Arnold crosses deep from the right. Robertson returns it from the left. The ball ricochets off Firmino and almost curls into the top left. De Gea steps up to take a corner. What a salvation! Despite this…
79 min: Carvalho dribbles into the United box from the left. Dalot has cut it slightly but it does not go down. It would have given the referee something to think about if he had opted to go down.
78 min: Salah wins a corner from the right. Alexander-Arnold floats it. Firmino heads down, easy claim for De Gea.
77 min: A bit of pinball in the box for United. Salah doesn’t really compete for the loose ball. Carvalho has a hit. The ubiquitous Martinez blocks.
76 min: Rashford beats a terribly weak challenge from Gomez and slides in from the left. His shot goes over the bar. This is abysmal on Gómez’s part.
75 min: Alexander-Arnold flicks a pass down the inside-right channel for Salah, who tees up Firmino for a blocked shot. The flag then pings for offside. All Liverpool’s faces sink in frustration. It’s been that kind of night. It’s been that kind of season so far.
74 min: Fernandes is booked for a rather obvious dive on Robertson’s leg after a poor check in the Liverpool box. He has the grace not to argue, smiling wryly.
tsk tsk, Bruno. Photograph: Paul Currie/Shutterstock
Updated at 9.38pm BST
73 min: Fred’s first act is to relieve Elliott of the ball, putting it through for a goal kick. Milner then walks off to Carvalho.
71 min: Fred enters for Sancho.
70 min: Van Dijk, who has been awful tonight, tries to add to his personal bests with a creamy diagonal pass down the right for Alexander-Arnold. Try the spectacular with a center volley for the first time. Goal kick
68 min: Alisson sloppily throws the ball away for a throw-in near the dugouts. Klopp takes the opportunity to catch him and give his team some beneficial advice. Now he is more than livid. Liverpool players are lucky that the trip home is short.
67 min: Salah’s dribble gives Liverpool a corner on the right. Robertson hits her deep. Fabinho wins a header and sends it low to the left. De Gea flops the ball smoothly.
65 min: Salah slides Elliott into the United box on the right. Elliott fires his shot across the face of the goal, then the flag goes up. Sky show a stat that tells much of tonight’s story: United have made 106 sprints to Liverpool’s 62. Klopp’s side are being hoisted by their own firecracker.
63 min: Salah, who has been almost invisible all night, tries a shot from distance. He is blocked with ease by the sensational Martinez. Firmino then takes an aerial shot. And then Salah makes a simple pass to Díaz out wide for a goal kick. This is becoming very embarrassing for Liverpool. A different kind of embarrassment to the one United suffered in this game last season, but an embarrassment nonetheless.
come on Photograph: Simon Stacpoole/Offside/Getty Images
Updated at 9.27pm BST
61 min: Liverpool are being beaten, fought and outplayed all over the pitch. “Football is a game of imponderables and mystery,” writes Adam Roberts. “Who could have predicted that dropping Harry Maguire for a World Cup winner would improve the defense with a knock-on effect for the rest of the team?”
59 min: Henderson is replaced by Fabinho. If nothing else, this performance gives Klopp some leverage in his bid to land a new midfielder before the transfer window closes.
58 min: Rashford plays a diagonal pass to Fernandes on the right. It almost makes his man clear. Alisson reads the danger and claims the edge of his box, just in time.
57 min: The corner eventually leads to Varane juggling the ball to the penalty spot (!) with his back to goal, then it’s to a revitalized Rashford who curls through a thicket of players towards the bottom right Denied by Alisson’s brilliant fingertip save. United are doing a decent number on Liverpool here.
55 min: Rashford terrorized Alexander-Arnold here four years ago, and Ten Hag has tasked him with doing it again, having been switched to the left for this second half. Only a last-ditch tackle from the Liverpool winger – who has a booking, remember – keeps him from breaking again, at the cost of a corner.
54 min: There’s a VAR check, but Rashford hasn’t been offside. Another roar as the goal is confirmed. Liverpool try to respond, Milner drives down the right and cuts out Diaz, who can’t bundle home from six yards, Eriksen and De Gea combining to block and clear.
Marcus Rashford walks away delighted. Photo: Dave Thompson/AP
Updated at 9.19pm BST
GOAL! Manchester United 2-0 Liverpool (Rashford 53)
Loose ball in midfield. Van Dijk is easily beaten to the ball by Martial, who turns and slips Rashford into the centre. Rashford drives into the Liverpool box, draws Alisson and confidently smashes into the bottom left! Simple as that.
Rashford beats Alisson with ease. Photo: David Davies/PA
Updated at 9.16pm BST
51 min: Rashford probes down the left. He claims his inside ball touches a hand, but the umpire doesn’t care. Elliott then pins Malacia to the ground on the same wing. Free kick, which is easily cleared. But this is a good response to Liverpool’s quick start to the second half.
49 min: … but Liverpool back at United, Elliott takes a shot from the right of the D. It’s deflected and Liverpool eventually get a corner… from which Salah sloppily fires miles over the bar.
48 min: … but it’s actually Robertson who turns it deep. United clears that up easily enough.
47 min: There is already a feeling that Liverpool are picking up the pace. Milner was fouled by Martinez on the right wing. They charge into the box as Alexander-Arnold stands to take the free-kick.
Jordan Henderson throws the ball. Photograph: John Powell/Liverpool FC/Getty Images
Updated at 21.12 BST
46 min: Liverpool are quickly in front. Salah drives down the right, then distributes the play to Elliott and Milner, the latter with a shot blocked.
United, who are now kicking towards the Stretford End, kick off the second half. They made a change at half-time: Martial comes on for Elanga. A tactical change. Martial enjoyed a good pre-season before getting injured.
Mid-day viewing.
Managers, players or Glazers – what’s the problem at Manchester United? – video
Midday mailbag. “Nine days is a long time in football. Great credit to ETH. Man Utd look outstanding. They fight for every ball. Every time L’pool attacks, there are two red shirts. In addition, Martínez has been the best player on the pitch. It’s throwing itself at everything. Awesome stuff” – Steven Grundy.
“I think Mane’s departure makes all the difference to this Liverpool team. Without all that talent and forward pressure, an already frequently exposed defense is exposed even more” – Matthew Richman.
“I really like all the new data analytics that have come into football, but I feel a bit behind. For example, there’s a stat for ‘He stands there like a statue while Sancho does it on the penalty spot.’ ? – Kevin Simons.
“The cliché isn’t quite right, is it? This is a half-time game – Manchester…