2-1 victory to Manchester United. I thought it was well deserved, felt to me like United had the better fighting spirit and that it made the difference for them.

Think they really had the better chance out of the two teams despite not having possession and also that they were solid at the back. Martinez in particular seemed quite motivated and I thought his performance was great. So was Malacia, impressed by what those two shown already, I wasn't expecting much from them at first because going from Ajax to the PL normally demand some adjustement but they had immediate impact on that game.

Seeing United winning a derby without Maguire kinda lead me to believe he definetly not first team material after all, Varane and Martinez if they manage to stay fit should be starting choice imho.

I do think however that United fighting spirit might have been a bit too intense at time and that they were some unecessary challenge here and there. But United won and didn't get into trouble so all good.

One players that did really annoy me on United side was Bruno, mostly after the first goal from Liverpool, I get you are leading by only one goal and technically, you get possession of the ball back anyway but it felt so stupid and painful to watch. Just dislike this kind of attitude in a player even if he technically doesn't break any rule by doing it.

Now about Liverpool, oh boy that wasn't very impressive, Alexander-Arnold was liability and not much else, Van Djik was sleeping on the first goal, no creativity in midfield or in attack and you can feel how badly this team would need more depth. I know there are injury plaguing them but the players who are available are also looking tired and unreactive. Wasn't impress by them at all

Overall, I think United had less pressure (I mean, most people expected them to lose) and played their heart out for their home fan, Liverpool will need to find some way to change their dynamic and get some confidence soon cause otherwise, they aren't even competing for the league this year.

What are your thought though?

Interesting game and the team that put in the work, won..... United was the better of the two and I agree with a number of things you said Emo.

Liverpool is hit hard with injuries yet those who did play looked way off the norm. Every team will have an off day, and perhaps this was Liverpool's turn. It does expose some of the areas talked about regarding fatigue and such, especially when the WC picks up, but this is game three and teams should have plenty in the tank right now.

Bruno drove me crazy with his antics and I am glad he got a card for diving. The holding the ball move was just stupid and I would have laughed my butt off if he got a second yellow for it. He played pretty well, yet ruined it with childish drama.

Trent was just rough and loans more into concerns about his defensive position. He did have some nice crosses into the box, but he looked tired as well.

Van Djik was a step off and I wonder if he was under the weather a bit. Screaming at him on the pitch does nothing really, so that was embarrassing to see, especially when those yelling at him were playing just as bad. haha

Loved Martinez and had him as man of the match for me. Malacia was fantastic as well, and Varane helped calm the backline.

Good win for United, tough performance for Liverpool. The season is still very young, so both have plenty to do.

Maybe it's because I'm more down on United, but I thought that Liverpool got actually cooked in the midfield all game long (due to players playing out of position) and it put their defense under needless pressure all game long. At the same time, United's own midfield, which gets overrun literally every game, was not.

I'm not sure what to make of that. It's a total oddity compared to what we've seen from both teams in the past year. That said, because United has such a difficult time breaking teams down, they usually do perform better against non-low block teams. Rashford's goal, for example, never could have been scored against a Brentford or a Brighton because the team would just never collectively be that far up the field.

United somehow got their old tricks back - playing better with less possession. Anyway it was good to see the rivalry is back.. not really enjoyable to anyone if one of the best derbys throughout history starts playing out like 5-0.. 4-0.. blabla...
I don't understand the hate on Bruno in this situation tbh.. in some situations he definitely is a bit extra and whining. But right now he had all the rights to take the ball out of his net and bring it slowly to the center. It was Uniteds ball to play. For me it seemed childish how salah and co. tried to "steal" the ball from him although he got it first and it was his ball. Why the yellow card shouts? for what? Like you had to give the ball to opponents for them to carry it for you.. right move.

@estcrow Well I did say that despite not liking this kind of reaction from a player, I do recognize he broke no rule by doing what he did. People talking about yellow card propably think about time wasting or simulation for holding out his face after Salah take the ball from him. But personally, I don't consider Bruno derserving a yellow for any of those two as he does not really waste that many time and he does get Salah hand in his face a bit.

Its just a case of not letting the opponent set the ball quickly at the center of the field for restart of the game and while he can do that and take his time, I personally have extra respect for players who don't fight over the ball and leave it to the opponent so they can start playing as soon as possible.

I mean, if you have confidence to be the better team? Why even bother with time wasting? For me, not only it isn't very classy but its also a weakness statement in the sense it make it seem the player is thinking: they could score again, better slow down the game.

So yeah, completely agree it wasn't a yellow and understand why he does it but I honestly dislike player who do it, just think its a total lack of class and goes a bit against the spirit of the game (but not the rule obviously).

@Sunflash Yeah, could argue that this Liverpool side was good matchup for United. Still think it selling United a bit low, for me, they really came into that game with the good mentality. Also in a football game, you don't need to be the best team in the world but you need to be the better team on the pitch. So in that regard, United deserve the congratulation for that win, no matter how poor Liverpool might have been, United wasn't as poor and that a good step in the right direction for them.

@DarthFooty

but this is game three and teams should have plenty in the tank right now

This is the results of Klopp playstyle, fatigue doesn't alway go completely down even after the summer. After an especially asking season for Liverpool like last season, I'm not surprised they still don't feel like they are at 100%. It suck for them but it come with how they play. Not that their current form and injury record really help boost their confidence which is pretty important at that level. Kinda worried Liverpool is going to do a season similar to their 2020-21 season where they saved it at the end and might have missed CL football.

At the end of the day, I just hope United realize Liverpool wasn't at their best at all and they still need to work hard and improve if they want to do better performance in the long run.

i can't understand how people are on bruno side, specially after already his pathetic dive in penalty box earlier
when United lose: their own fans boo him saying how he is absolute cry baby ruining morale and so on
when United win: he is suddenly a fighter

for the rest of the match United deserved to win, they outplayed Liverpool and completely overrun them in midfield, Martinez played fantastic and so did rest of the team, even McTominay owned Liverpool midfield.

It's simply a matter of not letting the opposing team quickly set the ball at the center of the field for the restart of the game. While he is free to do so and take his time, I personally have more respect for players who hand the ball over to their opponent so they can get back to playing as soon as possible.