Liverpool dump United out of Europe

Jürgen Klopp’s side headed into the second leg at Old Trafford with a two goal advantage thanks to goals from Daniel Sturridge and Roberto Firmino in the first leg.

Article by Ben Law @benlawsport

After the defeat at Anfield and failing to score an away goal it was always going to be difficult for Manchester United to advance to the quarter final.

Both teams created a number of chances and forced the opposition goalkeepers into making vital saves.

First it was Simon Mignolet who pulled off a brilliant save to deny United winger Jesse Lingard with a close range header.

Then it was the turn of David De Gea who was called into action from Philippe Coutinho shot and the Spanish international managed to make a fingertip save to deny the Brazilian.

It was Van Gaal’s side that took lead shortly after the half hour, when Anthony Martial calmly sent the keeper the wrong way from the spot after he was brought down by Nathaniel Clyne inside the area.

The red’s almost replied instantly when Sturridge’s free kick from the right hand side crashed against the post and the ball fell to safety.

The visitors didn’t have to wait much longer though, as Coutinho scored a wonderful goal just before the break.

The playmaker received the ball on the left flank before skipping past a United defender and then when confronted by De Gea the Brazilian showed his class by chipping the ball over the keeper’s head who had committed himself to the floor.

The goal seemed to quieten the Old Trafford faithful who had started to believe the comeback was on.

However, Liverpool’s goal meant that United now needed three more unanswered goals on the night to progress, an unlikely feat considering their lack of potency in front of goal this season.

The game continued to be open in the second half, yet neither side quite managed to create the clear cut chances that they did in the first 45 minutes.

Klopp’s side never seemed to be in any danger in the tie and were extremely impressive in the way they pressed the hosts and were able to frequently counter attack throughout the 90 minutes.

Liverpool were certainly the best team over the two legs and deservedly triumphed 3-1 on aggregate.

The defeat leaves manager Louis Van Gaal under an increased amount of pressure as his last hopes of gaining any silverware this season boils down to the FA cup replay against West Ham at Upton Park.

If the match against West Ham doesn’t go Manchester United’s way, it would be difficult to see Van Gaal still in charge next season as it would mean he would have failed to deliver a trophy in his two seasons with the club.

In contrast Liverpool will fancy their chances of winning the tournament after reaching the quarter final stage.

The Europa league seems to be the best route back into the champions league for the reds, who only have an outside chance of finishing in the top four in the Premier League.

The result and performance over the two-legs suggest that the Liverpool players are finally coming to terms to the style of play which Jürgen Klopp is trying to get them to play with only three defeats in their last 14 matches with two of them coming in penalty shoot-outs.

© e-Media Group 2016 All rights reserved no part of this document or this website may be reproduced without consent of @e_media_group