Manchester United
Three things nobody really talked about in Manchester United’s 3-2 win over Liverpool
Manchester United secured Champions League football for the 2026/27 season with a gripping 3-2 victory over Liverpool at Old Trafford on May 3. While Kobbie Mainoo‘s winner grabbed the headlines, three silent stories shaped this match just as much as the goals themselves.
How Carrick’s counter-attacking setup exposed Liverpool’s midfield gaps
Manchester United let Liverpool keep the ball and hit them on the break, finding plenty of joy down the right flank. Liverpool’s injury-hit squad, missing Alisson, Mohamed Salah, Alexander Isak, and several others, left Arne Slot with a side that lacked their usual pressing intensity. United sensed this, sat deep on purpose, and attacked with intent the moment they won the ball back. It worked perfectly for nearly an hour.
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The Amad substitution that nearly cost United everything
Amad Diallo came on at half-time and almost immediately gave the ball away to Dominik Szoboszlai, who scored a great solo goal to pull Liverpool back into the game. That one moment shifted the momentum completely, and Senne Lammens added to the mess with a poor kick that Cody Gakpo pounced on to level the scores. Carrick’s decision to take off Benjamin Sesko at the break, likely because he had to, sparked a twenty-minute spell where United looked nothing like the calm side that had controlled the first half so well.
Mainoo’s resurgence under Carrick after Amorim froze him out
Kobbie Mainoo had been frozen out of the team by Ruben Amorim, but he stole the show under Michael Carrick, firing a low shot past Woodman to send Old Trafford wild. It was his first Premier League goal since May 2024.
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Also, since Amorim left, no player has scored more Premier League goals than Benjamin Sesko, which suggests Carrick has simply freed up players who were struggling under the previous tactics. Manchester United and Liverpool both played their part in a breathless afternoon, but the Red Devils were the ones who stayed tough until the end.