And then instead of passing to a team-mate in space, Coutinho nonchalantly dinked the ball over the Spaniard to make the tie level on the night and give Liverpool the crucial away goal.
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Keane went on to suggest United were fortunate to escape without a real humiliation against Liverpool in the two Europa League ties, as he admitted Jurgen Klopp’s side were far superior over the two legs.
That leaves Louis van Gaal’s future on even more shaky ground, but progress in the Europa League was always in doubt after the first leg last week, when Liverpool dominated and won 2-0 at Anfield.
It is alleged that the scuffles broke out after Liverpool fans who were sat amongst United supporters held a flag over the balcony.
He added: “I am not angry, I am not frustrated”.
“I think it is (the best way to recover)”.
Manchester United have now crashed out of both European competitions in the same season, and are facing an uphill task in the Premier League as well.
“They tried to play really offensive, but we had our chances, it was Liverpool v De Gea”, he said.
“Phil had a genius moment, wonderful”, Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp said, “and it decided the game”. The pressure for these players is also very high.
“You could see that they started to crumble but it was unfortunate we conceded just before half-time because we had a real battle on our hands”.
“We know when we are attacking in this way that Liverpool also have counter chances”. The players have given everything – more than everything, I think – but still we have to play against Manchester City, which is a more important game now because it’s about qualification for the Champions League.
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Klopp had wanted United before he was drawn against them but when asked whether he would now like to face former club Borussia Dortmund, the favourites, in the quarter-finals his view was different. “It was brilliant what he did, it was the most unexpected thing you could do in a situation like this”.
