Even before the ball was kicked, this contest was expected to be the game of the weekend and it lived up to that level.
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Manchester United and Liverpool arguably produced the game of the season on Sunday, which ended in United’s favour after 120 minutes of non-stop action. The Red Devils twice came from behind to register a thrilling 4-3 win deep into extra time of the FA Cup quarter-finals. The match had everything from great goals to deflected strikes, brilliant saves and a red card. Even before the ball was kicked, this contest was expected to be the game of the weekend and it lived up to that level.
Coming into the match, Liverpool were the favourites since the form was on their side. The Reds are involved in an intense Premier League title race and have already won the Carabao Cup. Besides, they are doing well in the Europa League as well. Hence, Jurgen Klopp’s side were expected to carry that form into the FA Cup last-eight contest against an inconsistent Manchester United side. The Red Devils had suffered early eliminations from the Carabao Cup and Champions League, and are also quite behind in the top-four race.
Therefore, not many gave United hope in the FA Cup fixture. However, the hosts made it 2-2 in regulation time before taking the game into extra time where they scored twice in the second half and won the contest through a dramatic Amad Diallo goal in the dying minutes of the match. Expressing his joy over the win, manager Erik ten Hag told the official broadcasters, including MUTV and ITV1, “There are games where I was involved like this previously, yes. But, of course, when it’s Manchester United against Liverpool, one of the world’s best football matches, this is happening, I think it’s historical.”
He added: “Yes, I thought [the] first 35 minutes was the best I have seen from my team this season. We played so well, in and out of possession. And then the last 10 minutes. And also after half-time, we dropped off a level, and you see Liverpool is a very good team. And then they took over, but then, finally, we changed our style, the system especially, and from that moment on we took the initiative, and we believed in it, and we created chances, and we scored goals.”
Despite a lot of things going against United this season such as injuries to key players at crucial moments of the season, ten Hag is happy with the response his squad has given to those setbacks. “It was, of course, fantastic and the team showed the resilience and determination, to win this game. And we have had so many setbacks, so I’m really proud of the team. Not only in this game, but the whole season, we have so many setbacks, and they can deal with it. They are very strong, mentally, and it helps, of course, that the fans go behind us. But we energised the fans, they got behind us,” he explained.
The manager also feels that moments like these could give massive belief to the squad to do great things in this campaign. “Every team needs such moments into a season and we never had that moment. This could be that moment where the team can really get the belief and the energy so that they can do amazing things. And I think when you can beat Liverpool in the way we did and you can beat any opponent. So it’s up to us to prove that point. And I said also on Friday, and today we did,” he added.
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