Wayne Rooney’s fourth goal in as many games gave Manchester United an undeserved win at Liverpool to stretch their advantage of their arch rivals in the race for the top four.
Liverpool edged proceedings throughout and United were indebted to David de Gea’s heroics and some wayward finishing from the hosts.
Roberto Firmino and Jordan Henderson both skewed wide in a first half before De Gea denied Emre Can on two occasions after the break.
And Rooney turned home after Marouane Fellaini had hit the bar with 12 minutes remaining to make it four wins in a row over the Reds.
Despite both north west rivals coming off the back of entertaining 3-3 draws in midweek, the first half contrasted drastically with those encounters as the sides looked to size each other up.
But it was the Reds, looking for their first win over United in three meetings, who were soon in the ascendancy as Firmino could only drag wide after David de Gea had sprinted out to thwartAdam Lallana.
Firmino – who scored two brilliant goals against Arsenal in midweek – was proving an effective focal point to the hosts’ fluidity, and the Brazilian soon set up James Milner but the England midfielder couldn’t keep his volley on target.
With tempers boiling over, particularly between Lucas Leiva and Marouane Fellaini, Firmino was again involved as the Reds’ number 11 and Lallana combined to find Henderson who could only skew his shot wide of the far post.
The game followed a similar pattern after the break as Can brilliantly engineered some space only to see his low drive denied by a smart save by De Gea.
United finally registered a chance of note after 56 minutes when Martial – who announced himself to the Premier League with a brilliant goal in the reverse fixture in September – sped past some weak Liverpool tackles but fired wide.
But it was the Reds who were looking the most likely and when Henderson finally sorted out his radar after Firmino had wriggled free from Matteo Darmian he could only shoot straight at De Gea from 20 yards.
The Spaniard was keeping Van Gaal’s side in the game and he was again level to Can and Firmino’s quick-fire efforts.
And United were grateful for De Gea’s exploits as they delivered the ultimate sucker punch with just over ten minutes remaining.
Liverpool’s ability to defend set pieces has come under intense scrutiny in recent weeks and Fellaini exposed those weaknesses, heading against the crossbar before Rooney fired in the rebound despite Mignolet’s best attempts.
It proved to be United’s sole shot on target in the entire game and, despite a late scare when Firmino failed to turn in when promisingly placed, the visitors comfortably survived the final minutes.
Source: Talksports