Ole Gunnar Solskjaer says his side can find ‘loads of belief’ in their previous draws with Liverpool. We’re not so sure he should, though.
The Manchester United boss highlighted on Friday the need for a good performance at Anfield. His team come in as underdogs against the Premier League leaders, of course, but Solskjaer believes previous wins against Manchester City last month – and Paris Saint-Germain nearly a year ago – are good signs.
He then mentioned the draws with Liverpool, per United’s website.
“The last two performances we’ve had against Liverpool as well, to be fair, we’ve played them at Old Trafford twice, we’ve drawn twice and been closest to winning both of those games, so we’ve got some games to look back at and that will give us some belief, loads of belief, that if we perform to our best we’ve got a chance to win.”
Should they give ‘loads of belief’? Really?
First, there was a 0-0 draw at Old Trafford last February. Liverpool had more possession than United and one more shot – not a dominating performance but a decent one.
Still, the Reds were the more aggressive side and came away from that result disappointed. There’s also another factor to remember – it came after a Champions League midweek.
Now, both sides played in that midweek. United lost 2-0 to PSG and Liverpool drew 0-0 with Bayern Munich. Regardless of the results, both sides were tired and in that sense, the game was never going to be too open.
It also means that the side trying to press and push on are going to have a harder time than the one sitting back and defending.
And if you look at the result this season – the 1-1 at Old Trafford – you can find similar. There was no European midweek this time but an international break directly before the game.
Again, the aggressive team is more likely to have a harder time of it. And again, that aggressive team, with over double the possession, was Liverpool.
Neither game, therefore, was a fair reflection of the difference between these two sides.
Sunday’s game will be different and not just because it’s at Anfield. The Reds have had a week off, while United haven’t after their game with Wolves.
The fitness balance is gone and that spells bad news for Solskjaer and his belief.
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