Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s Manchester United held Liverpool to a goalless draw in Sunday’s Premier League clash at Old Trafford.
Danny Murphy has reserved some rather reluctant praise for Manchester United after they held Liverpool to a goalless draw at Old Trafford on Sunday, while speaking to Jim White on talkSPORT (25 February, 10:00am).
A high profile clash between Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s resurgent United and Jurgen Klopp’s title chasing Liverpool was hyped up, but failed to deliver on such exalted expectations with the game littered with injuries rather than clear-cut chances.
While the hosts may be reluctant to admit it, a 0-0 home draw will go down as an excellent result considering the circumstances. United lost Juan Mata, Ander Herrera and Jesse Lingard to injury in the opening 45 minutes, meaning they were forced to go up against Liverpool with a half-fit Marcus Rashford up top and youngsters Andreas Perreira and Scott McTominay in midfield.
While Murphy was obviously disappointed that his former club could not grab a much-needed win, he did reserve credit for a hard-working United side.
“United deserved credit, which is hard for me to say,” said Murphy, who scored a number of winning goals at Old Trafford in his Liverpool career.
“They had lots of injuries but, once they adapted to the 4-5-1, they were tenacious, well organised, and dangerous. And they deserved great credit.
“If you had told me (beforehand) that (the injuries) would happen you’d have backed Liverpool.”
While United were far from their best going forward, the performance full of character and determination shows just how far they have come under Solskjaer.
After all, it is just two months since they were battered 3-1 at Anfield, a result that sealed the fate of Jose Mourinho.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
