18 hours and 30 minutes. Intriguing 23rd round matches were played in the English Premier League.
Two rival teams, Manchester United and Liverpool, met at Anfield stadium. Liverpool, playing to the left and to the right, left intrigue until the very end of the match, but the visitors from Manchester still had to accept defeat.
After a solid performance, Liverpool extended their winning streak to 13 matches. The last time the Reds lost points was in the fall, when they drew with the same Man Utd club.
The match started with an active performance from the Man Utd team, but soon Liverpool dealt with the pressure from their rivals and took control into their own hands.
In the 14th minute, Anfield stadium witnessed the first goal - after a corner kick, Virgil van Dijk left no chances for David De Gea with a header.
Liverpool could have scored a few more goals in the first half, but the visitors were saved by both VAR and a few centimeters.
In the second half, Man Utd played much more aggressively in attack and had several good chances to equalize. Initially, Andreas Pereira couldn't reach the ball flying near the goal line, and later Anthony Martial missed a chance from a promising situation.
Liverpool controlled the ball less in the second half, but that didn't stop them from creating dangerous opportunities - Jordan Henderson was closest to the second goal, when the ball flew towards the goal after his shot.
At the end of the match, Man Utd tried to break the hosts' defence, but their attempts were in vain, as in the 93rd minute Mohamed Salah was left unmarked and sprinted through the half to put the final nail in the coffin of the duel.
After another victory, Liverpool widened the gap from the closest pursuers to 16 points.
Result:
Liverpool 2 - 0 Man Utd
14' [1 - 0] V. van Dijk
90+3' [2 - 0] M. Salah
Starting lineups:
Liverpool: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, Van Dijk, Robertson; Henderson, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Wijnaldum; Salah, Mané, Firmino.
Man Utd: De Gea; Wan-Bissaka, Lindelöf, Maguire, Shaw, Williams; Andreas, Fred, Matic; James, Martial.
