Alan Shearer: 'Liverpool were flustered and rattled - but still weren't beaten'
2025-01-06
Category: sports

Football is a crazy game sometimes, isn't it?I don't think many people thought Manchester United were capable of getting a positive result at Anfield, let alone producing the superb performance they did on Sunday. I certainly didn't see it coming.In contrast, Liverpool did not play well, and never came close to hitting the heights we have seen from them this season.Arne Slot had only been beaten once in his previous 27 games since taking charge last summer, but his Premier League leaders could and maybe should have lost a game that they were widely expected to run away with.Clearly, there's no need for them to panic. Once the dust has settled on these dropped points and a disappointing display, Liverpool are still in a brilliant position at the top of the table.Arsenal will be kicking themselves because they were not able to close the gap this weekend after being held by Brighton and, even if Nottingham Forest win at Wolves on Monday, they will still be six points back, and having played an extra game too.
A poor performance, or credit to Man Utd?
What gives the chasing pack a glimmer of hope are the goals that Liverpool conceded on Sunday.They looked flustered when they fell behind in the second half, something we have not seen very often recently, and United's attacking threat continued to rattle them.Even so, Slot's side did not end up being beaten, and I don't feel as if they have had any glaring weaknesses exposed either.In every area where they were below their best, United were excellent. You have to give Ruben Amorim and his players some credit for that.For example, Trent Alexander-Arnold got a lot of stick for his performance at right-back, but I thought Diogo Dalot was absolutely superb down that flank - he was still making overlapping runs in stoppage time - and, in front of him, Bruno Fernandes was fantastic too.
Most of United's good work came down that side, so maybe they had targeted Trent as being a weakness. He struggled defensively, but Dalot and Fernandes also stopped him from being as effective as usual going forward too.That was another part of the game where Liverpool struggled to impose themselves in the way they normally would.Their firepower has been unequalled this season - they are the top scorers in the Premier League - but we did not see too much of their front three for the first hour. Just before Cody Gakpo scored their equaliser, it appeared as if he and Luis Diaz were both about to be replaced.That was down to United too. Their back three, or back five as it was when they did not have possession, has not looked very comfortable recently. In their previous game, against Newcastle, their midfield of Casemiro and Christian Eriksen got totally overrun.This time, Kobbie Mainoo and Manuel Ugarte more than held their own, even against the energy that Liverpool have in the middle of the pitch.It meant that, for long periods, United's system worked. They were nullifying Liverpool as well as finding ways to hurt them.
The standards Man Utd have to reach
The game ended with both teams pouring forward, and they were going hell for leather trying to win it right up until the final whistle.Before Harry Maguire's late miss, Liverpool had almost nicked it too but the very least that United deserved was a point. Everything about them was impressive, including their effort and attitude.Now, they have to back it up. While we already know Liverpool are the real deal and a disappointing day for them does not change that, the challenge for United is to prove this was not a one-off.There is no harder place to go in the Premier League this season than Anfield so this performance has shown what they can do, but every game from now on will be compared to it.It has set the standards that they have to meet in the next few weeks or months, and whether it is at Arsenal in the FA Cup next weekend or at home to bottom-of-the table Southampton a few days later, the level they reached here has to become the norm.Alan Shearer was speaking to BBC Sport's Chris Bevan.