Klopp and Van Dijk's fury with two Liverpool stars spoke volumes in Man Utd draw

17 December 2023 , 18:45

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Klopp and Van Dijk's fury with two Liverpool stars spoke volumes in Man Utd draw

Liverpool were left with plenty of regrets against Manchester United as the Reds failed to make possession count in a goalless draw, and their manager and captain looked to be the most frustrated of all.

The Reds had started well against United, forcing a succession of corners and testing Andre Onana through a header from Virgil van Dijk in the first half, but they were guilty of a lack of fluency at times and all often hesitated when it came to creating chances.

As the first half wore on Darwin Nunez was looking more and more erratic, at one stage holding onto the ball for a little too long before getting away a pass or a shot.

Shortly before the break a ball up to Nunez caught the Uruguayan offside when he should have been able to look along the line and judge his position, and Jurgen Klopp reacted to that by turning to his bench and shaking his head at what he'd just seen from the forward.

The Reds boss would have hoped his side would find some more clarity in front of goal in the second half, but it wasn't to be as United impressed and even began to look threatening themselves on the break, with Alisson saving well from Rasmus Hojlund after a swift attack.

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Jurgen Klopp and Virgil van Dijk cut frustrated figures at full-time (AP)

Liverpool were looking to keep their momentum up and keep progressing the ball forward, and Van Dijk was left furious with midfielder Wataru Endo when he chose to pass backwards after winning back possession in midfield. Van Dijk threw his hands to the air and cut a frustrated figure as what he saw as a chance to keep the pressure on get thrown away.

The Reds had become guilty of showing too much safety in their possession, and they came up against an impressive United defence marshalled by Raphael Varane and Jonny Evans, with Luke Shaw and Diogo Dalot strong in the full-back positions before Dalot's late red card.

Klopp and Van Dijk will doubtless see this as two points dropped for the hosts, and there was a level of disappointment rarely seen at Anfield nine months on from last season's 7-0 victory as the Reds failed to score for the first time this season.

Mark Jones