Overall I'm not too disappointed. You cannot dominate every one of the 38 EPL games or have a perfect winning plan for each – there is too much quality in the opposition, particularly when you're playing teams like Man United.
Mourinho clearly spent a lot of time dissecting our game and drilling his plan into the players; his team selection was clearly "anti-Liverpool 11" rather than "Man United." Two things were key: 1) they almost entirely eliminated the type of build-up passing that could be trapped by our pressure (the couple of times United players failed to heed those instructions and played "normally", we pressed and won the ball straight away), and 2) they made our build-up play as uncomfortable as possible by pushing Pogba up front together with Ibrahimovic to lurk between our defenders, while all other players marked potential recipients of the ball 1-on-1. The downside of this for United was that their own game was severely disrupted as well – that's why they ended with 35% possession and very few genuine chances, despite some stellar attacking talent on the pitch and on the bench. That's what often happens when you build your team around the opponent's strength rather than your own.
How did our players reacted to Mourinho's plan? Not too good, but it could have been worse. The back 5 and Henderson (dropping between CBs when starting attacks) were of course quite inconvenienced by United's high press, but still sufficiently calm and composed to avoid big mistakes (other than Karius's awful pass, where he was bailed out by offside). I have to defend Karius a bit here: sure he doesn't look settled in the team yet and even his distribution doesn't look all that great at the moment, but you just have to look at how often the likes of Neuer, Ter Stegen and Bravo make serious mistakes to appreciate how difficult it is even for the best sweeper-keeper when his team is under high press. Despite some heart-in-mouth moments, overall I think Karius passed this test. For sure with Mignolet in goal our build-up play would have suffered even more.
Our midfield and attack had an equally difficult task – how to play our normal quick passing game with inconsistent supply from the back and through tight spaces guarded by disciplined and physical United players. Overall you have to say they failed to fulfill this task and that’s why Klopp was unhappy with the performance. Let's talk some individuals:
Coutinho and Firmino – I think both played with real creativity and inspiration and worked very hard in defense too. The only problem was they were not getting the ball in dangerous areas with enough regularity.
Can – very rusty in the first 30 minutes, mentally just not on the same wavelength as his teammates. But he gradually grew in confidence and by the end of the game was his usual swag self. Don't forget he was playing in a different position than the one he settled in last season – him and Hendo have now reversed roles and that could also have been a factor in the initial confusion.
Mane – strangely subdued and never tested Blind for speed. Don't know what to make of this performance.
Sturridge – I'm growing more worried about him with each game. He doesn't make sprints, doesn't run in behind, still scoreless in the league and didn't look like scoring at any point in this game.
Lallana – changed the game after his introduction and showed how much we missed him.
To our players' credit, eventually they did manage to push United back and find their rhythm, particularly after Lallana came on. So this game gives me grounds for optimism – sure, we struggled to break down a 500 million team executing a plan designed specifically against our style of play by probably the best manager in the game at designing such plans, but in the end we did not lose and we created 2 great chances to win. As for United, for all Mourinho's smug talk about neutralizing the "last wonder of the world" as he put it, the fact is the leagues are not usually won by reactive football. I would much rather be in Klopp's position – disappointed that we couldn't overcome a plucky opponent, than congratulating himself on stopping another team, like Mourinho.
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