It s difficult to say what s going wrong. In context, they re still top on goal difference, it s only their second defeat of the season, and four of their next six games are home. But slow starts have become a big problem for them. We re used to Liverpool being a relentless machine, but in the last few weeks it has gone off the boil somewhat. 3:39 Jurgen Klopp says his Liverpool side are in a rusty moment but he insists they will play through any problems they have. There were moments last season where Liverpool struggled against sides you d expect them to beat. You just wonder whether a little bit of tiredness has crept in, with the relentless pace they ve played at in the last few seasons, and obviously injuries have taken their toll as well.
Highlights of the Carabao Cup quarter-final tie between Everton and Manchester Utd.
This is the fourth time Man Utd and Man City have met in the League Cup semi-finals, also doing so in 1969-70, 2009-10 and 2019-20, the joint-most of any fixture along with Arsenal vs Tottenham Hotspur.
The away team won both the League Cup semi-final legs between Man Utd and Man City last season (3-1 City first leg, 1-0 United second leg), with the Citizens going through 3-2 on aggregate.
Manchester United are unbeaten in their last three games against Man City in all competitions (W2 D1) without conceding a goal. They haven t gone four without defeat against their rivals since February 2011.
A pretty obvious choice but the first winner for me is
Manchester United. They ve had so many ups and downs under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer but they re now only one win away from being three points clear at the top of the Premier League. 2:58 FREE TO WATCH: Highlights from Manchester United s win over Aston Villa in the Premier League.
They had three tough games over Christmas, Leicester away followed by Wolves and Aston Villa at home, but to pick up seven from nine points at a time where Liverpool have stumbled could be really important.
Personnel-wise at United, their attacking players have got a lot of plaudits but
What I would say is that Manchester United are a confusing bunch, two or three weeks ago you looked and this team and thought it would be a tough old season. They went out of Europe, the performance in the first half at West Ham was really poor, I was there. If the right player in available then yes, Manchester United should go into the January transfer market because they need to improve the team
Gary Neville But if you look at the result at Everton, the glass is half full. The squad has been used after the performance against Leeds, where they were brilliant. Six goals against Leeds then nine changes against Everton, everyone is involved and playing.
What s quite interesting is that if we re right in saying this side have massive room for improvement, have mistakes to cut out, and yet they re in a position where they re only five points off all-conquering Liverpool - with a game in hand - that suddenly becomes really encouraging for Manchester United fans.
If it all clicks, imagine what they can actually do. Just imagine a Manchester United-Liverpool title race.
Like Tottenham, Manchester United need a different mode when they re playing against a compact side. Against Crystal Palace they had 75 per cent of the ball and lost the game. Against West Brom they had 63 per cent and scraped a 1-0 win. Against Arsenal they also had more of the ball and lost. They actually create more big chances when they have less of the ball.