Save Manchester United At Anfield, Amad Diallo Thwarts Liverpool's Victory

Amad Diallo's players brought Manchester United to a 2-2 draw against Liverpool in The North West Derby. (X/@ManUtd)

JAKARTA - Manchester United is still unpredictable. When facing Liverpool's strong team in the Premier League English duel at Anfield, Sunday, January 5, 2025 evening WIB, MU actually managed to get points after drawing 2-2. Winger Amad Diallo saved MU as well as thwarted Liverpool's victory.

MU has picked up bad results over the last few matches. Even MU could be humiliated by Bournemouth 3-0 at home. When they visited the headquarters of the bottom team, which was threatened with lower caste, Wolverhampton Wanderers, they also lost 2-0.

So, MU was not seeded when they hosted Newcastle United at Old Trafford. As a result, it is suspected, Newcastle beat the Red Devils 2-0 which made them even worse at number 14. MU actually approached the relegation zone rather than to the top.

The series of very disappointing results made MU again predicted to lose against Liverpool in The North West Derby at Anfield because they have three of the last four matches in the league. Especially at the first meeting at Old Trafford, MU, which is still being handled by Erik ten Hag, has only been Liverpool's months.

Even Arne Slot's side seemed to teach MU players to play football before finishing them 3-0 in front of their own supporters. An embarrassing defeat and MU never got up until finally Ten Hag was dismissed.

Even though the performance of the two teams is very contradictory, The North West Derby is still no less prestigious, especially for supporters of both teams. The rivalry between the two supporters remains hot. Even MU fans still visited Anfield to support Ruben Amorim's troops.

The supporter's belief that his favorite team continued to fight when the derby turned out to be paid in full by the players. Superior more than Leandro Martinez's goal, MU then trailed 2-1. But Dialo appeared as a savior and forced a 2-2 result.

The success of picking up one point by showing a brilliant performance has made MU captain Bruno Fernandes happy and disappointed.

"I'm really disappointed. If we were able to show the level of the game like against Liverpool at the top of the standings, why couldn't we do it in another game," said Fernandes.

"In this match we really worked hard. We played with passion and heart. We gave everything in this match," he said again.

Meanwhile, Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk admits the Reds play under performance as leaders of the standings

"Honestly, we made a lot of serious mistakes," said Van Dijk.

The draw made MU move up one strip in the standings. Now, MU is ranked 13th with 23. Same as West Ham United, but MU is ahead on goal difference.

Liverpool themselves are still firmly at the top of the standings with 46 points. Six points ahead with Arsenal who are in second place. However, Liverpool still have one match so they have the opportunity to widen their points with their competitors.

In that derby, MU did look different. They played very well in attack and defense. However, Liverpool started the match with an offensive game and threatened Andre Onana's goal. Luis Diaz's forward had endangered the MU goal, but his shot still bounced. Furthermore, Alexis Mac Allister's volley could still be saved by Onana.

After being under pressure, MU slowly began to rise. They showed being able to terrorize Alisson Becker's goal. The header of the Rasmus Hojlund striker who welcomed Diogo Dalot's cross still failed to produce results.

Hojlund actually had a good chance towards the end of the first half. Unfortunately, Alisson's shot was saved.

Entering the second half, MU played better. They put more pressure on them, forcing Liverpool to strengthen the defense sector.

But Liverpool's efforts ultimately failed. Defender Trent Alexander-Arnold made a fatal mistake which resulted in Fernandes' goal. Without hesitation, Fernandes gave the ball to Martinez who then fired a hard shot without being saved by Alisson.

Winning 1-0 in the 52nd minute, MU actually experienced a decline. The thing that makes Amoram look annoyed. Moreover, Liverpool did not take long to equalize.

Liverpool only needed seven minutes to break into MU's goal when Mac Allister provided a through ball to Cody Gakpo. He then penetrated and fired a shot that beat Onana.

In a 1-1 draw, Liverpool returned to control the game. Through an attack, Liverpool finally received a penalty after defender Matthijs de Ligt was judged to have touched the ball in the forbidden box.

The incident began with De Ligt's attempt to head the ball to throw the ball away. Only his hands were raised and then touched the ball. Referee Michael Oliver reviewed the incident via VAR before pointing to the spot.

The penalty was completed well by Mohamed Salah who beat Onana. Liverpool took the lead 2-1 when the match entered the 70th minute.

MU refused to give up. They continued to play attacking. Their efforts were not in vain, Diallo, who welcomed ASSIST Alejandro Garnacho, successfully broke into Alisson's goal in the 80th minute. The score changed to 2-2.

MU almost won for the first time at Anfield over the past eight years if Harry Maguire's header from Joshua Zirkzee's cross did not fail. The draw did not change until the end of the match.