Manchester United v Liverpool: Premier League – live | Premier League

Kobbie Mainoo restores United’s lead with a fine goal!

76 min: Man Utd substiution Patrick Dorgu, who has been out since January, comes on for Bryan Mbeumo.

75 min: Liverpool substitution Rio Ngumoha replaces Jeremie Frimpong, who played an important part in Liverpool’s comeback.

75 min Jones is booked for a tactical foul on Cunha.

Oof, what a chance. Fernandes took a free-kick on the right and put it straight on the head of Casemiro, unmarked 10 yards out. He’s usually such a good finisher with his head but on this occasion he planted it straight at Woodman.

71 min The last time Man Utd lost a league game at home after leading by one goal at half-time, never mind two, was against Ipswich in 1983-84.

68 min: Vital save by Lammens! Szoboszlai’s wicked free-kick from the right bounces across the six-yard box, ricochets towards goal (possibly off Konate) and is kicked away desperately by Lammens.

Liverpool look the likelier winners, something that would have been unthinkable at half-time.

66 min Including today’s game, there have been 55 goals in the last 13 games between United and Liverpool. In the 13 matches before that, there were 22.

64 min United almost cut Liverpool open with a simple long ball. Kerkez has to come across a long way to make an important tackle on Mbeumo.

62 min Now it’s Liverpool who are shredding Man Utd on the break. Frimpong drives a very deep cross to Kerkez, who touches it back to Gakpo on the edge of the area. His shot deflects over the bar.

61 min United restore some order with a calmer spell of possession. They must wonder what the hell is going on after such a dominant first half.

59 min: Liverpool substitution Milos Kerkez for Andy Robertson.

58 min Maguire’s crossfield pass is controlled majestically by Fernandes on the left. He hammers an almost angry cross that is clipped over the bar by Mbeumo on the edge of the area.

Football, bloody etc. Liverpool, so wretched in the first half, are now sniffing an extraordinary victory. Heaven touched a goal-kick to Lammens, who tried to play a straight pass to Casemiro in the D. It was a poor idea, badly executed: Mac Allister intercepted it and found Szoboszlai, who calmly squared the ball to give Gakpo an open goal.

Cody Gakpo equalises after a howler from Senne Lammens!

54 min Mbeumo hits the post with a flick behind his standing leg. It wouldn’t have counted because an offside against Fernandes, who nonetheless produced an outrageous first touch to kill an up-and-under from Dalot.

Had that led to a goal, we’d have been rewriting this quicksmart.

52 min “Liverpool’s problem is they’re boring and that’s why Slot is getting more grief from fans than he arguably should,” writes Graeme Neill. “There were some absolutely shocking performances at times early doors under Klopp but there was such a joyous chaos to the football that you were willing to be patient. It’s just not a lot of fun watching Liverpool this season and why bother with football if it’s not fun?”

Sir Alex Ferguson was reportedly taken to hospital from Old Trafford after feeling unwell ahead of Manchester United’s hosting of Liverpool in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon.

The move is thought to be a precautionary rather than an emergency measure regarding the 84-year-old former United manager who won 13 Premier League titles and the Champions League twice in his 27-year tenure at Old Trafford.Ferguson is a regular at United’s home games and has a row of seats in the Old Trafford directors’ box.

50 min Now Mainoo shoves Frimpong over near the touchline. United, so comfortable in the first half, look rattled.

49 min Shaw is booked for a foul of Frimpong.

The substitute Amad plays a dodgy square pass that was read and intercepted by Szoboszlai on the halfway line. He scurried at a backpedalling defence, all the while looking for a pass. Nothing was on so he veered outside Maguire on the edge of the area before sliding a precise left-foot shot back across goal. It went through the legs of Dalot and rolled into the far corner.

Liverpool’s player of the season gets them back into the game with a superb solo goal!

46 min United have made a half-time substitution. Benjamin Sesko has an injury and has been replaced by Amad Diallo.

That means Bryan Mbeumo moves to centre-forward, and he has a chance straight from the kick-off. Van Dijk jumps under the ball and Mbeumo’s shot deflects behind off Konate.

The resulting corner was headed wide by Maguire at the far post. Half a chance.

Sky Sports News are reporting that Sir Alex Ferguson is conscious and has had precautionary checks after being taken to hospital ahead of today’s game.

“The handball is a weird one,” writes Henry. “On slo-mo it looks like the slightest of brushes, which would be absurd to call a handball. But on a faster replay, the trajectory seems like it changes, from going less directly into the goal, to directly into the goal. I suspect it was going in anyway, but the original trajectory might have been sideways enough for Van Dijk to hack it clear.

“Which continues the trend of Liverpool being perhaps unlucky, but also just not good enough. The midfield looks like it’s never played together, and the less said about Mac Allister the better. It’s the kind of non-performance that makes you wonder about the coach… where is the defensive structure or composure?!”

Roy Keane on Liverpool

They look frightened to death. They’ve been dreadful. Liverpool are like a five-a-side team – but a bad five-a-side team. They’re not athletic and they give the ball away cheaply.

Half-time reading

Man Utd are on course for their first league double over Liverpool in a decade. The goals from Matheus Cunha and Benjamin Sesko may have been fortunate, and Sesko’s might have been disallowed, but United were much the better team and could have scored more on the break.

Liverpool’s performance could be described as sub-optimal, or another word that begins with S.

45+3 min Fernandes passes a corner towards Mbeumo on the edge of the box. His shot is blocked by Van Dijk.

45+1 min Four minutes of added time. The impressive teenager Ayden Heaven gets a big cheer from the home fans after a well-judged sliding tackle on Frimpong.

45 min At the other end, Gravenberch and Wirtz have shots blocked – the latter by the head of Maguire, who slipped and was in a horizontal position when the ball boinged off the side of his head. I think there was an offside before Wirtz’s shot.

44 min Cunha has a shot blocked after an imaginative free-kick from Fernandes. The ball runs to Konate, who seems to freeze eight yards from his own goal and is harassed by Sesko and Cunha. The ball ricochets off somebody and is kept out by Woodman.

41 min Gravenberch has a pop from distance. It’s too straight and Lammens saves easily.

40 min Man Utd have kept Liverpool at arm’s length throughout the first half. But they haven’t been as clinical as they might on the break and because of that Liverpool are still in the contest. If they get the next goal, the mood will change in an instant.

39 min “There’s an enjoyable twist to fairly defending managers by comparing them to the greatest manager of all time,” writes Zach Neeley. “‘Give me another chance and I will improve. Just not like that to be clear, I can’t do that.’”

38 min We’ve just seen blown-up footage of Sesko’s goal. His fingernails probably did scrape the ball before it hit his chest and bounced into the net. The operative word is ‘probably’ – I can understand why VAR decided the evidence wasn’t conclusive. Equally, were I a Liverpool fan I’d be hacked off as it probably was handball.

34 min Incidentally, Bruno Fernandes won’t get an assist for Sesko’s goal because of Woodman’s touch. Don’t get me started on Alexander Isak’s non-assist at Goodison…

Nothing much is happening in this game; United are in control with and without the ball.

32 min Some breaking news: Sir Alex Ferguson was taken to hospital from Old Trafford after feeling unwell before today’s game. It sounds like a precaution rather than anything more serious, but we’ll have more details at half-time.

30 min “Managers are fired too soon these days, and in a reasonable world Slot would get another season,” says Zach Neeley, lining up the inevitable ‘but’, “but I must admit there is a foul smell to his work this season.

“If the team was convinced the title was a well-made and well-taught team mostly doing it on their own, then it makes sense to get it over with.”

I fear for Slot, especially with Xabi Alonso available, but I can’t abide the culture of sacking managers at the first sign of trouble. Does 11, 2, 11, 13, 6, 2, 1, 1, 2, 1, 1, 2, 1, 1, 1, 3, 1, 3, 3, 2, 1, 1, 1, 2, 1, 2, 1 mean nothing?!

28 min At the other end, Wirtz shoots well wide from the edge of the area.

Liverpool are all over the place every time United counter-attack. Mbeumo runs down the right and clips a flat cross towards Fernandes, who batters it just wide from 12 yards. The bounce made it slightly awkward but he should have scored.

24 min Cody Gakpo, who hit the woodwork about 48 times in the return fixture at Anfield, whacks an excellent curling shot just wide from 25 yards. Lammens may have had it covered but it was a fine effort.

23 min “What has to happen for Mr. Slot to be released?” wonders Jeff Sax.

For him to have not win the Premier League last season?

22 min Konate gets away with a clear foul on Sesko, shoving him off the field and onto the running track. The referee was a fair way behind play because of the speed at which United broke.