Bruno Fernandes comes up trumps for Man United again to knock Liverpool out of FA Cup
Last Updated: January 25, 2021 6:30 am
Match highlights: Manchester United 3 – Liverpool 2
See the official FA Cup highlights as Man United beat Liverpool 3-2.
Man United vs Liverpool
The marquee matchup of the FA Cup 4th round played out on Sunday evening.
The tie saw Manchester United play host to long-time rivals Liverpool.
The sides, of course, faced off just last weekend in the Premier League, playing out a 0-0 draw at Anfield.
This evening’s clash, though, took place at Old Trafford, with the hosts having headed into proceedings in much the better form.
Liverpool have of course gone winless in their last five league outings, and, last time out, saw their historic unbeaten home record come to an end in a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Burnley.
Jurgen Klopp, meanwhile, has also been known to regularly approach England’s domestic cup competitions with less than full effort.
The German’s starting line-up on Sunday, though, despite the respective absences of Jordan Henderson and Sadio Mane, was pretty strong.
But, nevertheless, when all was said and done at Old Trafford, it was United who came away with the win.
Rashford shines
Sunday’s tie, unlike the meeting between the sides last weekend, started in lively fashion, with end-to-end action.
Neither outfit was able to carve out any clear-cut chances during the opening 10 minutes, though.
Mason Greenwood was responsible for the first decent effort of the day, beating a Liverpool defender in the box before shooting wide.
But it was the visitors who went on to open the scoring a short time later, in a move which no doubt reminded fans of the Liverpool whom we became accustomed to seeing over seasons gone by.
Roberto Firmino dropped off to receive the ball, before playing a lovely through pass to Mohamed Salah, who chipped Dean Henderson:
“That was Liverpool at their clinical best!”
Watch Man Utd v Liverpool in the #FACup LIVE on @BBCOne, @BBCiPlayer and online: https://t.co/Tjw0tEHnAl#MUNLIV #bbcfootball pic.twitter.com/rh9RDQHhQr
— Match of the Day (@BBCMOTD) January 24, 2021
Man United didn’t take long to level things up, however.
Marcus Rashford floated an inviting ball over the top of Liverpool’s defence, which James Milner missed. In turn, the ball was picked up by Greenwood, who controlled with his chest, before slotting calmly past Alisson:
The pass from Rashford! 🎯
The finish from Greenwood! 💥Watch Man Utd v Liverpool in the #FACup LIVE on @BBCOne, @BBCiPlayer and online: https://t.co/bt0ZESjr1K#MUNLIV #bbcfootball pic.twitter.com/ZDIk1WCawO
— Match of the Day (@BBCMOTD) January 24, 2021
Rashford then came close to providing his second assist of the day just moments later, this time slipping in Donny van de Beek, who was unable to get a shot off.
The winger was the brightest player on the pitch in the first-half, causing the visitors all sorts of problems down his favoured left flank.
The opening 45 minutes drew to a close with United very much on top.
Fernandes to the rescue
The second 45 opened with the Red Devils remaining in control. And, once again, it was Rashford who was at the heart of everything positive on the part of Solskjaer’s men.
Greenwood, returning the favour from earlier in the clash, then set his attacking partner free, with Rashford having picked out the far corner with confidence:
Mason Greenwood returns the favour for Marcus Rashford! 🤝
Watch Man Utd v Liverpool in the #FACup LIVE on @BBCOne, @BBCiPlayer and online: https://t.co/bt0ZES1Qac#MUNLIV #bbcfootball pic.twitter.com/J0yJ6iP3tO
— Match of the Day (@BBCMOTD) January 24, 2021
Liverpool came close to equalising through James Milner 57 minutes in, but the midfielder fired over.
Just seconds later, though, the visitors did make it 2-2, after Firmino once again set up Salah to pick out the corner.
Trent Alexander-Arnold then forced a solid save out of Henderson on the hour-mark.
This was followed by Klopp bringing on Sadio Mane for Georginio Wijnaldum.
United responded with a couple of changes of their own, which saw star man Bruno Fernandes, and Fred, enter the fray.
Before either of the Red Devils’ midfield duo could have any sort of impact, however, Salah had a great chance to make it 3-2, but Henderson was able to deny the Egyptian.
Liverpool continued to pressure their hosts as the clash wore on, with Klopp’s men in desperate search of a winner.
However, 12 minutes from time, it was United who found the all-important third goal of the tie.
Edinson Cavani won a free-kick on the edge of the Liverpool box, after being fouled by Fabinho.
And Fernandes, who hadn’t been on the pitch for long, stepped up to convert the set-piece with aplomb:
WHAT A HIT!
Bruno Fernandes 👏
Watch Man Utd v Liverpool in the #FACup LIVE on @BBCOne, @BBCiPlayer and online: https://t.co/bt0ZES1Qac#MUNLIV #bbcfootball pic.twitter.com/m0GxrWxVCN
— Match of the Day (@BBCMOTD) January 24, 2021
From here, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men held on, clinching a huge win, and a spot in the last-16 of the FA Cup.
See also: Wycombe Wanderers vs Tottenham Hotspur betting tips: FA Cup preview, predictions & odds
This article was edited by Benjamin Newman.
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| # | Team | MP | D | P |
| 1 | Manchester City FC | 26 | 36 | 62 |
| 2 | Manchester United FC | 25 | 21 | 49 |
| 3 | Leicester City FC | 25 | 17 | 49 |
| 4 | West Ham United FC | 26 | 9 | 45 |
| 5 | Chelsea FC | 25 | 16 | 43 |
| 6 | Liverpool FC | 25 | 11 | 40 |
| 7 | Everton FC | 24 | 4 | 40 |
| 8 | Aston Villa FC | 23 | 11 | 36 |
| 9 | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 24 | 10 | 36 |
| 10 | Leeds United | 25 | 0 | 35 |
| 11 | Arsenal FC | 25 | 5 | 34 |
| 12 | Wolverhampton Wanderers FC | 25 | -6 | 33 |
| 13 | Crystal Palace FC | 25 | -14 | 32 |
| 14 | Southampton FC | 25 | -12 | 30 |
| 15 | Burnley FC | 25 | -12 | 28 |
| 16 | Brighton & Hove Albion FC | 25 | -6 | 26 |
| 17 | Newcastle United FC | 25 | -17 | 25 |
| 18 | Fulham FC | 25 | -11 | 22 |
| 19 | West Bromwich Albion | 25 | -36 | 14 |
| 20 | Sheffield United FC | 25 | -26 | 11 |
| Player | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 17 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United FC | 15 |
| Kane, Harry | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 13 |
| Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 13 |
| Bamford, Patrick | Leeds United | 13 |
| Calvert-Lewin, Dominic | Everton FC | 13 |
| Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City FC | 12 |
| Gundogan, Ilkay | Manchester City FC | 11 |
| Wilson, Callum | Newcastle United FC | 10 |
| Watkins, Ollie | Aston Villa FC | 10 |
| Rashford, Marcus | Manchester United FC | 9 |
| Sterling, Raheem | Manchester City FC | 9 |
| Barnes, Harvey | Leicester City FC | 9 |
| Zaha, Wilfried | Crystal Palace FC | 9 |
| Maddison, James | Leicester City FC | 8 |
| Ings, Danny | Southampton FC | 8 |
| Lacazette, Alexandre | Arsenal FC | 8 |
| Aubameyang, Pierre-Emerick | Arsenal FC | 8 |
| Soucek, Tomas | West Ham United FC | 8 |
| Antonio, Michail | West Ham United FC | 7 |
| Player | Team | Red Cards | Yellow Cards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gallagher, Conor | West Bromwich Albion | 0 | 8 |
| Bellerin, Hector | Arsenal FC | 0 | 8 |
| Hayden, Isaac | Newcastle United FC | 0 | 8 |
| Lundstram, John | Sheffield United FC | 1 | 6 |
| Evans, Jonny | Leicester City FC | 0 | 7 |
| Egan, John | Sheffield United FC | 1 | 6 |
| Bissouma, Yves | Brighton & Hove Albion FC | 1 | 6 |
| Milivojevic, Luka | Crystal Palace FC | 1 | 6 |
| Grealish, Jack | Aston Villa FC | 0 | 6 |
| Klich, Mateusz | Leeds United | 0 | 6 |
| Doucoure, Abdoulaye | Everton FC | 0 | 6 |
| Hojbjerg, Pierre | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 0 | 6 |
| Xhaka, Granit | Arsenal FC | 1 | 5 |
| Maguire, Harry | Manchester United FC | 0 | 6 |
| Romeu, Oriol | Southampton FC | 0 | 6 |
| Luiz, Douglas | Aston Villa FC | 0 | 5 |
| Kante, N`Golo | Chelsea FC | 0 | 6 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United FC | 0 | 5 |
| Ward-Prowse, James | Southampton FC | 0 | 5 |
| Dallas, Stuart | Leeds United | 0 | 5 |
| Player | Team | Assists |
|---|---|---|
| Kane, Harry | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 11 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United FC | 10 |
| Grealish, Jack | Aston Villa FC | 10 |
| De Bruyne, Kevin | Manchester City FC | 10 |
| Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 6 |
| Rashford, Marcus | Manchester United FC | 6 |
| Cresswell, Aaron | West Ham United FC | 6 |
| Digne, Lucas | Everton FC | 6 |
| Sterling, Raheem | Manchester City FC | 5 |
| Maddison, James | Leicester City FC | 5 |
| Firmino, Roberto | Liverpool FC | 5 |
| Ward-Prowse, James | Southampton FC | 5 |
| Werner, Timo | Chelsea FC | 5 |
| Raphinha | Leeds United | 5 |
| Neto, Pedro | Wolverhampton Wanderers FC | 5 |
| Robertson, Andrew | Liverpool FC | 5 |
| Shaw, Luke | Manchester United FC | 5 |
| Bamford, Patrick | Leeds United | 4 |
| Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City FC | 4 |
| Wilson, Callum | Newcastle United FC | 4 |
