Man United ran 19km MORE against Liverpool than in Brentford defeat
REVEALED: Manchester United’s players ran 19km MORE against Liverpool than in the miserable defeat at Brentford – and made 155 sprints last night compared to just 65 in the 4-0 drubbing
- Manchester United ran 19km more against Liverpool than the poor Brentford loss
- United made 155 sprints against the Reds compared to 65 against the Bees
- Erik ten Hag’s side had a much higher success rate than Liverpool in the duels
- The Dutchman’s side were way more clinical against the Reds on Monday night
- The Red Devils sealed a 2-1 victory over the Reds for their first win of the season
Manchester United outrun and outfought Liverpool to seal a 2-1 victory over Liverpool for their first Premier League victory of the season on Monday night.
In fact, the Red Devils ran a whole 19km more than the previous week, where they suffered a shocking 4-0 defeat to Brentford which saw them slip to the foot of the league table.
Erik ten Hag’s side ran a mere 95.6km last week as opposed to 113.8km as the players stepped up to deliver the Dutchman’s intense pressing style of football under the Monday night lights at Old Trafford.
Sportsmail breaks down the key statistics that saw United put in a much improved performance to beat rivals Liverpool.
Manchester United ran 19km more against Liverpool than in the poor 4-0 defeat to Brentford
United had a much higher success rate than Liverpool in duels, as they made 11 more tackles
It wasn’t only about the distance United covered, they made a huge total of 155 sprints compared to the 65 that they made against the Bees.
The high-pressing style of play led to plenty more interceptions as they had 12, double Jurgen Klopp’s side total of six during the match.
United were also more clinical, having just 12 shots rather than the 15 they did at the Brentford Community Stadium, but in both matches they had four shots on target and of course found the net twice more.
The high-pressing style of play led to plenty more interceptions, as they created 12 in the game
Those goals came despite a lack of possession with just 29.6 per cent against Liverpool while they had 67% against Brentford.
The choice of shots was also different as they took eight of those shots inside the box and just four from outside as they created more dangerous chances.
The match was more about fight than possession, as United had a much higher success rate than Liverpool in duels, as they made 11 more tackles and 34 clearances to the Reds mere eight.
Erik ten Hag’s side improved on the discipline front with just three bookings and eleven fouls
Ten Hag’s side even improved on the discipline front with just three bookings and eleven fouls, as opposed to 15 fouls and four bookings the previous week.
United saw Raphael Varane, Bruno Fernandes and Diogo Dalot booked in the victory at Old Trafford.
Whereas last week, they were required to make twice as many tackles as Brentford, 12 to six, and 22 clearances to 13.
United improved their discipline, although Bruno Fernandes was booked in both matches
They committed 15 fouls and collected four bookings, frustrated challenges late on by Scott McTominay, Marcus Rashford and Bruno Fernandes adding to Harry Maguire’s first-half foul on Ivan Toney, with the free-kick count ending up 17-7 in Brentford’s favour including offsides.
This week, the free-kick count only being 11-7, while United also only mustered two corners last time out and improved that total to six in the Liverpool win.
United made a total of 273 passes, 57 being long passes, with a passing accuracy of 65.9% during the win over title challengers Liverpool.
A key statistic being the passing accuracy in the opponents’ half which was a total of 53.6% while they only had a 12.5% crossing accuracy in their total of eight crosses.
Boss Erik ten Hag (pictured) made bold decisions with his starting line-up ahead of the match
The former Ajax manager dropped both Harry Maguire (pictured) and Cristiano Ronaldo
It’s crazy what difference a week can make and of course a few tweaks with the former Ajax manager making the bold decision to drop captain Harry Maguire and superstar forward Cristiano Ronaldo from the starting line-up.
Instead, he opted to recall Raphael Varane in defence and give Marcus Rashford a start down the middle as the striker.
He also dropped England star Luke Shaw for new signing Tyrell Malacia, which also seemed to pay off.
UNITED V LIVERPOOL STATISTICS
Manchester United v Liverpool:
Possession
29.6% v 70.4%
Duels success rate
51.4% v 48.6%
Aerial duels won
41.2% v 58.8%
Interceptions
12 v 6
Offsides
2 v 2
Corners
6 v 8
Tackles
24 v 13
Tackles success rate
70.8% v 84.6%
Clearances
34 v 8
Fouls conceded
11 v 7
Yellow cards
3 v 1
Red cards
0 v 0
Passes
273 v 645
Long passes
57 v 54
Passing accuracy
65.9% v 83.7%
Passing accuracy in opponents’ half
53.6% v 74.1%
Crosses
8 v 23
Crossing accuracy
12.5% v 26.1%
Goals
2 v 1
Shots
12 v 17
Shots on target
4 v 5
Blocked shots
4 v 5
Shots outside the box
4 v 2
Shots inside the box
8 v 15
Shooting accuracy
33.3% v 29.4%
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