Toure, though, doesn’t seem to have given up hope as he feels the insane nature of the Premier League this season gives Liverpool hope – especially if they manage to string a few good results together. The game was a reflection of the two clubs’ current fortunes; both trying to rediscover their identities under foreign managers and generally struggling for quality, especially in the final third.
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“The gap is seven points”. Sunday’s Premier league clash with Liverpool, at Anfield, was no exception.
“We beat Liverpool where other competitors at this level have lost”.
The Red Devils won 1-0 at Liverpool on Sunday to move back into fifth place, seven points adrift of leaders Arsenal and second-placed Leicester City. He has got some credit in the bank now.
United’s short corner then saw a header from Marouane Fellaini hit the bar before Wayne Rooney lashed home to give the visitors all three points with their only shot on target – with the opportunity proving costly.
“I am a happy coach”, said Van Gaal, who has won all four games against Liverpool since joining United in 2014. “We need to continue the start we’ve made to this year, it’s a massive victory for us”.
“I know we didn’t score a goal”.
Talk of United even challenging for the title would been dismissed as fanciful at the end of 2015, when the team was on an eight-game winless run and manager Louis van Gaal’s future looked precarious.
The fact United were able to leave Anfield with three points was largely down to David de Gea, who was by far the busier goalkeeper.
The England captain reached the landmark after 358 games, which is 100 more than it took Henry to rack up his tally of 175 goals.
“A lot of the things we did today were really good”, Klopp said, according to the Liverpool Echo. “But in the second-half we came into the match and kept the ball more and created chances and scored the winning goal, I’m happy, the players are happy and the fans more happy”.
Castigated in some quarters for his performances over the first half of the season, Rooney has become the figurehead of United’s mini-revival, scoring five goals in his last four appearances.
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The Frenchman added: “Petr Cech was outstanding, we needed a player like him in the air when Stoke played that kind of game”.
