Ex-Manchester United midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger has surprisingly praised Liverpool as ‘the better team’ after Monday’s defeat to his former club.
A lacklustre Reds side lost 2-1 at Old Trafford, with Mohamed Salah’s 81st-minute header not enough to turn the tide following cool finishes from Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford either side of half-time. Jurgen Klopp’s men are now winless in their opening three games and have conceded first in all of them.
Erik Ten Hag’s team were an entirely different team from the one that lost 4-0 at Brentford, exploiting a woefully lackadaisical Liverpool defence and then defending resolutely against a blunt attack. But veteran German midfielder Schweinsteiger has shocked fans of his former club by claiming the Reds were actually better on the night due to having more possession.
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“You know of course I support United and I'm very happy they won,” he told BBC Radio Manchester. “But was it a great performance in my opinion if I compare it with other teams … the top teams in Europe? I wouldn’t say so.
“For me Liverpool was the better team actually and they had much more possession in the game. But you know United did one thing really well. They had the right attitude towards the game, the right spirit in the team.
“And in my eyes the supporters have won the match because you know, it could’ve been different.”
Despite Liverpool’s dominance in possession - they held 71% and completed 645 passes compared to Manchester United’s 273 - the away side failed to cause consistent concern to the Red Devils’ defence, often receiving passes to feet and facing the back-four instead of running behind.
The Reds had chances and could have classed themselves unlucky that Bruno Fernandes’ sliced clearance from James Milner’s header ricocheted off Lisandro Martinez on the line, but few chances were created after Salah’s goal and David De Gea’s goal was rarely threatened.
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