Gary Neville believes Manchester United now have something to build on after producing their “best performance” under Ruben Amorim and securing a 2-2 draw against Liverpool at Anfield.
United showed plenty of backbone at Liverpool, something Amorim called for as they scored their first goals at Anfield since 2018 to earn a point against Premier League leaders Liverpool.
Amad Diallo poked home Alejandro Garnacho's cross with 10 minutes to go – contributing to Lisandro Martinez's first goal in two years – and earned a point after going ahead at 2-1 after Cody's penalty Gakpo and Mohamed Salah had changed things for Arne Slot's team.
It was a result and a performance that will have boosted Amorim, who had called on the leaders in the side to step up after five defeats in his first eight games in charge.
And Neville, who said he was shocked by United's performance, believes his former side can get even more from the draw against Liverpool than from the last win over Manchester City before Christmas.
“I think it's the best performance under Ruben Amorim, maybe all season,” Neville told Sky Sports.
“To come to Anfield this year, the best team in the league, it beats last week's win over (Manchester) City. City were in a bad moment and the way the game went they were a bit lucky with the victory.” .
“I thought United were fantastic from minute one. They fully deserved it [the draw].”
'No one expected that [from Man Utd],” Neville added on the Gary Neville podcast.
“I know Liverpool fans will probably say they were maybe a bit complacent going into it because they thought it would be an easy win, but actually I thought if Liverpool played even half well today, Manchester United could win in its current form.” how they have been lately would simply be pushed aside. The best I could hope for was almost a 1-0 or 2-0 defeat.
“I thought United were fantastic.
“I don't say that lightly because I think it's difficult to play here. The guts and courage have been questioned, and the quality has been questioned. I've questioned them both.”
“They showed they had both in spades in that match and I'm surprised, they really shocked me. I thought they were fantastic from minute one to minute 90 against a good Liverpool team who always put a lot at stake .” You.”
On whether this is now a blueprint for Amorim at Man Utd, Neville said: “I'm sure some people will mention Man City and forget City. City, to be honest, was part of hanging in there and then just a get a contract.” couple of goals at the end which was brilliant.
“That was an achievement against the best team in the league at the moment, that was from minute one to minute 90, even to go behind in the game and come back, that's a real achievement.
“Amorim has picked a better team, that's number one, but he also said: 'I haven't had any time on the training pitch with the players at all'. Last week was the first time he trained with them four times. now five next week or six next week, so he did say he just wanted that time.
“Now I'm not saying everything will go well but this is the worst performance from any Man Utd team in a century in terms of league points and all that sort of thing so let's not get carried away but it is something to It's really something to hang your hat on.”
Neville: The midfield supported the best performance of the season
A key part of United's resolve at Anfield was the performance of midfield duo Kobbie Mainoo and Manuel Ugarte, along with captain Bruno Fernandes.
Neville was full of praise for the trio, suggesting they defeated the Liverpool midfield of Alexis Mac Allister, Ryan Gravenberch and Curtis Jones.
“Obviously the team selection had to be very different. The team that starts against Newcastle was never going to win that football match, or most football matches in the Premier League, but Ugarte and Mainoo were not in great form in central midfield,” said the former Manchester United defender.
“Bruno was playing from the left again, against Trent Alexander-Arnold and Salah I actually thought that would be a risk for United, rather than being a strength as it ultimately was. I liked the way all three of them got the ball packed brilliantly.
“I always say that the ball at Anfield as a midfielder is the most difficult, especially when you have Gravenberch, Mac Allister and Jones against you, they are all over you. I actually thought those three Liverpool midfielders, I think Mac Allister was the best there was, but Gravenberch and Jones, it would be harsh to say they were missing, but they certainly struggled against Mainoo, Ugarte and Fernandes.
“I thought they outdid them. I thought United took control of the midfield, which I haven't seen many Manchester United midfielders do here. It's very difficult to do that at Anfield.”
'Man Utd must back this performance'
Ahead of kick-off, former United captain Roy Keane urged Manchester United players to show “more passion” against rivals Liverpool.
The players certainly heeded his call, but after the match Keane said they now need to back Liverpool's performance and show some consistency.
“Manchester United turned up,” Keane told Sky Sports.
“They showed a bit of passion. They did that recently at Manchester City.
“The argument with all this, however, is that you cannot simply choose when you want to come to a Manchester United match.
“I don't think anyone predicted that they would score two goals today or come close to scoring at the end. But the most important thing is that they have to get behind that.”
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