Manchester United Handle Rivals Liverpool for 3-0 Win, Keep Pace With City and Chelsea

Manchester United kept pace with the league leaders, blanking a struggling Liverpool side 3-0.

Image via espnfc.com

In a clash between old Premier League rivals Manchester United and Liverpool, it was United’s Spanish goalkeeper David De Gea who stole the show, making eight saves—several of them of the spectacular variety—and helped fuel United to decisive 3-0 win at Old Trafford.

While Liverpool held the better of the play in the early stages of the game, Raheem Sterling’s inability to finish past De Gea on one end led to a United counter-attack on the other. Antonio Valencia humbled defender Joe Allen with a nutmeg, then sliced a cross along the top of the 18 to find captain Wayne Rooney, who finished expertly to put his team into the lead:

United’s second goal came on a controversial call just before halftime. Juan Mata was clearly in an offside position when Robin Van Persie flicked on Ashley Young’s free kick, but the linesman did not feel Van Persie has actually touched the ball, which meant that Mata’s goal stood:

United were able to earn their first clean sheet against Liverpool in almost seven years largely because of De Gea, whose best save of the game came on this 67th minute rip by Liverpool’s Mario Balotelli:

The momentum of De Gea’s save manifested itself on the other end of the field just a few minutes later, when a brilliant shot fake by Mata left Van Persie wide open with goal gaping on the far post:

The win helps keep United in the top three of the Premier League, as they trail Manchester City by five points and league leaders Chelsea by eight points. They’ve now won six Premier League matches in a row, and have a good shot extending that with their next fixture against struggling Aston Villa.

Liverpool, on the other hand, continue to search for the form that nearly won them the Premier League title last season. They’ve now gotten just 21 points from 16 games, and sit at 10th in the league table.  

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