Amad scored the equaliser as Manchester United fought back in a thrilling 2-2 draw with Premier League leaders Liverpool at Anfield, halting their three-match losing run.
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Arsenal's 1-1 draw at Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday gave Liverpool a chance to go eight points clear at the top, but Arne Slot's hosts started slowly in freezing conditions and fell behind to Lisandro Martinez's second-half strike.
Cody Gakpo netted a swift equaliser before Matthijs de Ligt's handball allowed Mohamed Salah to put Liverpool ahead from the penalty spot, but the hosts were far from their best and were pegged back late on.
Amad – the hero of United's 2-1 win at Manchester City last month – tucked home with 10 minutes to play as the under-fire Red Devils earned an impressive point.
The draw lifts Ruben Amorim's side to 13th in the table, leapfrogging West Ham United, while Liverpool are six points clear of second-placed Arsenal with a match in hand.
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Liverpool
LIV
|
19 | +28 | 46 |
| 2 |
Arsenal
ARS
|
20 | +21 | 40 |
| 3 |
Nott'm Forest
NFO
|
20 | +10 | 40 |
| 4 |
Chelsea
CHE
|
20 | +15 | 36 |
How the match unfolded
Liverpool went close to scoring a brilliant team goal in the 14th minute, but Gakpo flicked wide after great approach play from Ryan Gravenberch, before Andre Onana thwarted Alexis Mac Allister at his near post.
United constantly threatened down their left-hand side as the home fans grew frustrated. Amad was unable to direct his header goalwards from a cross by Diogo Dalot and Alisson was forced to make a sprawling one-on-one save to keep out Rasmus Hojlund.
Man Utd's first-half chances
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Amad miss
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Hojlund miss
Amad miss
1 / 2
Hojlund miss
2 / 2
Seven minutes into the second half, United led from another attack down that flank. Trent Alexander-Arnold's loose ball was cut out by Martinez, who exchanged passes with Bruno Fernandes before firing in off the crossbar.
United's lead lasted just seven minutes, though, as Gakpo brilliantly turned De Ligt on the left side of the area before blasting into the top-right corner.
Eleven minutes later, Alexander-Arnold's cross was flicked on by Mac Allister onto the outstretched arm of De Ligt, with Michael Oliver awarding the spot-kick following a pitchside VAR review, allowing Salah to coolly convert.
However, Liverpool could not press home their advantage as substitute Alejandro Garnacho raided down the left to tee up Amad, who tucked his low finish beyond Alisson.
Conor Bradley struck the outside of the post but United had the best chance to win it, Harry Maguire somehow lifting over a gaping goal in the seventh minute of stoppage time.
Harry Maguire's late chance could have won the match for @ManUtd 😫#LIVMUN pic.twitter.com/kgsSXeeeE0
— Premier League (@premierleague) January 5, 2025
Liverpool get cold feet
Sunday's match was thrown into doubt when heavy snowfall struck Merseyside and, for much of the contest, it seemed the cold weather might have got to Liverpool's stars.
Aside from a two-minute blitz in which they created good opportunities for both Gakpo and Mac Allister, the leaders failed to turn up the heat in the first half.
Slot's half-time team talk failed to have the revitalising effect the home fans desired, with Alexander-Arnold – who struggled all match – guilty of a mistake in the build-up to Martinez's opener.
Gakpo's quickfire equaliser stirred Liverpool into life and the Anfield crowd were in fine voice when Salah gave them the advantage. However, the Reds' frailties on the right continued to show, and it was no surprise when United's equaliser came via another raid down that side.
Alexander-Arnold was withdrawn for Bradley shortly after another dangerous United attack came to nothing, and his struggles summed up what was a frustrating day for Slot's men.
They retain a comfortable cushion at the top of the table, but with trips to third-placed Nottingham Forest and home specialists Brentford up next, the title race is far from a foregone conclusion.
Amad the hero again
It is fair to say that Amorim needed a statement result at the end of a week that began with the United boss admitting relegation was a possibility, in comments made after his team were routed 3-0 by Newcastle United at Old Trafford.
United could have lost four straight league matches within the same season for the first time since 1979, and could even have done so without scoring for the first time since 1909.
While they were undoubtedly aided by Liverpool producing one of their most tepid displays of the season, United showed plenty of fight to reduce the Anfield crowd to groans of frustration, and they had already passed up several good chances before Martinez put them ahead.
Amad was guilty of one such miss midway through the first half, sending an awkward header away from goal when found unmarked at the back post.
However, the 22-year-old, who has been the standout player of the Amorim era to date, kept plugging away and provided the moment of the match, peeling away from his marker to sweep Garnacho's cross home in the 80th minute.
Things could have been even better for United, had Maguire not shot over the crossbar when teed up by Joshua Zirkzee deep into stoppage time.
While Amorim has not enjoyed an ideal start to his United tenure, he can at least point to battling results at both the Etihad Stadium and Anfield as he sets about rebuilding the Premier League's fallen giants.
With bottom club Southampton up next at Old Trafford on 16 January, he will surely be confident of building some momentum.
Club reports
Liverpool report | Man Utd report
What the managers said
Arne Slot: "We started really well, had three open chances in the game and then there was a period of time which was more difficult for us. It is difficult if you play quality players that are playing in a low block with only [Rasmus] Hojlund and [Amad] Diallo as attackers. It's not always easy to find the gaps and that's what happened. Then being 1-0 down makes it even more difficult but I was very happy with the mentality we showed afterwards going 2-1 up."
Ruben Amorim: "I think it is really clear. When we are focused, when we fight for every ball, when we suffer and we are tired when the game is finished, we are a good team. If we don't do that all the time then we are going to lose games. That is clear to everybody. We controlled very well the tempo of the game. Every time Liverpool had a chance, we controlled and had the ball for a moment. That makes a difference. You could see in the game, it was not like we are not suffering all the time because we controlled the ball, sometimes winning some fouls, controlling the transitions. It was a good game."
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Key facts
Liverpool have recovered 13 points from losing positions in the Premier League this season, with only Manchester City (14) gaining more. Having only fallen behind in four of their first 13 league matches under Arne Slot, the Reds have since trailed in four of their last six.
Manchester United remain winless in their last 10 away matches against Liverpool in all competitions (D5 L5), their longest ever such run. However, they scored as many goals today as their previous 10 such away matches at Anfield combined beforehand (two).
Lisandro Martinez was the first Man Utd player to score at Anfield since Jesse Lingard in December 2018, ending the club’s run of five successive visits without a goal away to Liverpool in the Premier League.
Salah has 18 goals and 13 assists in 19 Premier League matches this season, the most goal involvements ever by a player in their first 19 appearances of a campaign in the competition, overtaking Luis Suarez's 30 in 2013/14 (23 goals and seven assists).
