Manchester United condemned Liverpool to a fourth straight defeat as Harry Maguire’s second-half goal sealed a 2-1 victory over the Premier League champions.
After defeats to Crystal Palace, Galatasaray and Chelsea, Arne Slott’s side suffered their most painful setback of the season at the hands of their arch-rivals on Sunday.
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Brian Mbeumo put United ahead two minutes later, and Cody Gakpo equalized in the 78th minute, but Maguire’s header in the 84th minute sealed the club’s first win at Anfield since 2016.
Maguire’s goal also ensured United won back-to-back Premier League titles for the first time since Ruben Amorim took over as United manager.
The defeat left Liverpool four points behind leaders Arsenal, but manager Arne Slott is still trying to figure out how to strike the right balance after spending around 450 million pounds ($604 million) on new players in the transfer window.
United closed the gap on their historic rivals to within two points and moved up to ninth in the table, relieving the pressure of Amorim’s biggest win in almost a year in charge.
Liverpool, who suffered three consecutive defeats for the first time in Slott’s reign, could hardly have imagined a worse start on Sunday.
Mbeumo breezed past Virgil van Dijk and just a minute later he pipped Amad Diallo’s pass past Giorgi Mamadashvili.
The home team and supporters were furious that play was not stopped during the build-up after Alexis McAllister went down with a head injury sustained by captain Van Dijk.
Slott signed Florian Wertz, who was on the bench for two games in a row, for big money as he looked in vain to find the right balance between defense and attack.
During Liverpool’s fluid first half, Gakpo should have equalized for the defending champions when he hit Mohamed Salah’s through ball onto the post.
Bruno Fernandes then thwarted a brilliant chance to double the Red Devils’ lead by firing a free shot wide of the post from the edge of the area.
Senne Ramens, on the other hand, caused little trouble in the first 45 minutes but made a big save when called upon to deny Alexander Isak his first Premier League goal since joining Liverpool for a British transfer record fee of £125 million (about $93 million).
The Dutchman rattled the woodwork for the third time early in the second half when Gakpo’s deflected cross hit the post.
Slott gained nearly £200 million (about $149 million) in forward options off the bench as Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike were introduced at the hour mark, joining a five-man attack of Salah, Gakpo and Isak.
Salah has scored more goals than any other player in this match, but his poor form showed with a wild finish that sliced wide only for Lamence to beat him at the back post.
Liverpool’s rich attack team finally burst through the gates when Federico Chiesa, who replaced Isak, put in a low cross for Gakpo to score from close range.
However, parity lasted only six minutes as defensive weaknesses saw Fernandes’ looping cross headed free by Maguire.
Gakpo still could have salvaged a point when he headed wide of goal from Jeremy Frimpong’s superb shot.
However, Liverpool suffered their first league defeat in a year at Anfield, dealing a further blow to their hopes of snatching a 21st English top-flight title from United.
Maguire told Sky Sports that winning “meant everything”.
“It’s been a long time coming to this ground to get three points,” he said.
“It’s a cliché to say we only got three points, but that’s not the case at all. It means so much more to the club, the players and the fans than just the points.”
Van Dijk told Sky Sports that Liverpool need to come together to get through these difficult times.
“These are interesting times because we have to come together not only as players but also as a club and as fans who want to win,” the Liverpool captain said.
“We need to stay humble, keep working hard and keep our confidence as high as possible. It’s important to keep that mentality of being there for each other when the going gets tough. It’s a long season,” he added.
Emi Buendia’s curling effort gave Aston Villa a 2-1 come-from-behind victory over Tottenham in Sunday’s Premier League match.
The win continued Villa’s comeback after a disappointing start to the season and ended Spurs’ chances of moving into second place in the table.
In the 77th minute at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Buendia stumbled over the edge of the box and fired a low, perfect shot into the bottom corner.
Villa were winless in their first six games of the season, but this is their fifth straight win in all competitions.
Just five minutes later, Rodrigo Bentancur put the home side ahead and Spurs’ seven-match unbeaten run ended and looked set to continue.
Morgan Rodgers equalized in the 37th and Villa took all three points, handing Tottenham manager Thomas Frank his second league defeat since taking over in the summer.
