Matic was sent tumbling, and Leo Lin surged forward with the ball!
Only the defensive line remained ahead of him—with no midfield protection at all!
He glanced up quickly. Out of the corner of his eye, Firmino was lurking behind Bailly. On the left, Ashley Young was tightly marking Mané. On the right side, however, Salah shoved Valencia aside and immediately burst forward.
Leo Lin didn't hesitate. With a smooth swing of his leg, he threaded a through ball straight into the channel!
Salah received it on the right side of the box, one-on-one with the keeper—but the angle was tight.
"Salah receives the ball on the right side of the box, cuts inside and shrugs off Smalling!"
"He's still driving toward the middle of the penalty area!"
"Valencia tracks back just in time—Salah forced to shoot!"
"De Gea pushes it out for a corner!"
"De Gea reacted quickly, dropping low and blocking the shot with his left leg. Liverpool win a corner kick."
"Leo Lin's pass was surgical in precision. Unfortunately, Salah's shot lacked just a bit of luck."
"Liverpool's tactical pattern is very clear—they're constantly trying to create attacking space through the middle, which is their strongest method of attack."
Liverpool earned the corner. Wijnaldum waited at the far post while Mané swung the ball toward the center.
Leo Lin sprinted forward from the edge of the penalty arc, trying to attack it with a header—but Smalling got there first and cleared it away.
"Under Mourinho, this Manchester United side relies heavily on quick counterattacks combined with crosses from the wings. Lukaku and the late-arriving Sanchez are both strong in the air."
When play resumed, Manchester United quickly demonstrated their tactical identity.
Defend deep, then counterattack—often ending with crosses from wide areas.
Lukaku deliberately drifted toward Matip's side.
The pace of the match never truly accelerated, because Manchester United constantly used small fouls and other interruptions to slow the tempo. They clearly had no intention of letting Liverpool settle into their attacking rhythm.
16th minute.
"Mignolet on the ball at the back—he passes left to Robertson, who drives forward!"
"Mata pulls him down—foul! The referee gives a verbal warning!"
"Manchester United keep using these little fouls to disrupt Liverpool's rhythm."
...
"Fierce battle in the middle—Wijnaldum controls the ball elegantly, weaving forward with tight dribbling."
"Matic chasing him, but Wijnaldum refuses to lose possession."
"Switch of play to the right—a beautiful long diagonal."
"Arnold pushes forward with the ball—through pass!"
"Salah beats the offside trap!"
"There's an option at the far post, but Salah decides to go alone!"
"He drives into the box—tight-angle shot!"
"Another brilliant save from De Gea!"
"De Gea once again showing why he's considered one of the best goalkeepers in the world—his goal-line reflexes are outstanding."
"Still, on that attack Salah could have passed to the far post. That might have created a better scoring chance for Mané."
Since kickoff, Salah had been extremely lively.
He repeatedly burst into the penalty area and created shooting opportunities, but none had turned into a goal.
In the Sky Sports commentary booth, Gerrard watched Liverpool's relentless pressure with a relaxed smile.
"This is the strength of Liverpool right now. Manchester United can only defend—it's simply the reality."
Beside him, Manchester United legend Gary Neville immediately fired back.
"Listening to you, you'd think Liverpool had already scored. But what's the scoreline?"
"This is football, Gerrard. It's not about who attacks more—it's about who puts the ball in the net."
Just as the two were arguing, the referee suddenly stopped play.
Liverpool goalkeeper Mignolet had collapsed, clutching the back of his thigh.
Jon Champion spoke immediately.
"This doesn't look good. The replay shows no contact at all."
"When a player goes down like that without contact and asks for play to stop, it's almost certainly an injury."
No one knew what had happened.
Liverpool's medical staff rushed onto the pitch and quickly diagnosed a strain in the back of Mignolet's left thigh.
"It probably happened when he was forced to clear the ball under pressure from Lukaku."
Mignolet held his left leg as he spoke with the team doctor.
On the bench, Karius immediately began preparing to come on.
"It looks like Mignolet can't continue. German goalkeeper Karius is getting ready to enter the match."
"Mignolet has started almost every game this season. He's clearly played a huge number of matches, and muscle fatigue may have caught up with him."
Karius completed a quick warm-up and ran onto the field.
Liverpool fans applauded Mignolet as he left the pitch.
Play soon resumed.
The singing at Anfield never stopped. Liverpool had dominated the play, and the home fans were in high spirits.
30th minute.
"Firmino tries a long-range shot from the edge of the box—De Gea gathers it comfortably!"
"Quick long throw to start a counterattack! Mata receives the ball—what a first touch!"
"He sends a 45-degree cross into the penalty area!"
Matip had been tightly marking Lukaku.
But suddenly, from his blind side, a figure burst into view where no one expected—
McTominay!
McTominay leapt into the air and powered a header toward goal!
The ball bounced off the turf!
Karius dove sideways desperately!
He actually reached the ball—
But in the next split second, his hands failed to close properly around it. The ball slipped straight through the middle of his palms!
The entire stadium fell silent.
Even Jon Champion sounded stunned.
"The ball's in!"
"Karius! Butterfingers!"
"A super, super—massive, massive blunder!"
"That's the kind of mistake you'd expect from an amateur goalkeeper. Karius is a professional—how on earth has he made such a basic error?"
"For heaven's sake, Karius! Why not just punch it away early? Why take the risk of trying to catch it?"
"His butterfingers have cost Liverpool dearly—they're now trailing 0–1!"
"And that was Manchester United's first shot on target of the match. Their very first!"
McTominay immediately sprinted toward the touchline and slid on his knees in celebration—right in front of the Liverpool supporters' section!
He gestured for them to be quiet, taunting the entire stand.
This had been Mourinho's tactical plan.
Lukaku deliberately pressured Matip to draw his attention, creating space behind him for McTominay to make a late run and attack the cross.
The broadcast camera cut to Mourinho.
The "Special One" had actually sprinted all the way toward Liverpool's bench to celebrate!
It was an unmistakable provocation.
Klopp immediately stormed forward, pointing at Mourinho and shouting angrily.
A confrontation erupted instantly.
Both coaching staffs and substitute players rushed in, bodies colliding in chaos.
Moments later, even the starting players joined the melee.
"The situation is completely out of control! Mourinho's celebration has infuriated Klopp, and now both sides are tangled together!"
"Well, that's Mourinho. Exactly the sort of thing you'd expect from him."
"But regardless of the chaos, Manchester United lead Liverpool 1–0—and they might just be about to drag Liverpool's winning streak crashing down!"