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HARRY MAGUIRE hailed Manchester United’s new-found defensive form as they stayed on top of the Premier League.
United fought out a goalless draw at Anfield on Sunday and became the first team since October 2018 to stop Liverpool scoring at home in the league, a run of 43 consecutive matches.

Harry Maguire hailed Manchester United’s clean sheet in Sunday’s derbyCredit: Reuters

Jurgen Klopp’s Champions are also the league’s top scorers at home this season with 21 goals but United allowed them only three shots on target.
It was United’s third clean sheet in four games while Liverpool failed to score for a third consecutive league game, the first time that has happened since 2005.
So while the Red Devils may have been rueing two late chances denied by the goalkeeping of Alisson there was plenty to be positive about for the club captain.
Maguire said: “It was a big defensive display,”

“Not just from the defenders and the goalkeeper, it was the midfielders, the forwards. They covered us and we looked solid. We didn’t give them a big chance. It was a great defensive display.”
Some United fans were aghast to see that the inform Eric Bailly had been replaced by Victor Lindelof for the game but he was solid alongside Maguire.
Earlier in the season the question was why a new centre-back had not been bought, now manager Ole Solskjaer has a selection headache with what he already has.
Maguire said: “Victor has come back to the team in a big game with huge pressure and performed excellently.

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“Credit to Vic, it shows the depth we’ve got at centre-half now with Eric, who has been playing and doing really well.
“It’s important, whoever plays, in the back-four, knows the team, knows their responsibilities and keeps clean sheets, as that gives us the best chance of going on to win the games.“
While United did not take all three points it was a draw that maintains an unbeaten league run of 12 games this season and they are 16 unbeaten away from home.
It is a run stretching back to a year on Wednesday when they lost 2-0 at Anfield and Maguire says they travel to Craven Cottage to face Fulham with confidence still very high.
Maguire said: “We wanted to win the game but we didn’t, but we keep the momentum going of not losing, especially away from home.
“I’ve watched their recent games, Fulham, and they’ve got some great attacking players and they play nice football, so we know it’s going to be tough.

United took a point from Anfield on Sunday – but some felt it could have been moreCredit: Getty Images – Getty

“Every game in the Premier League is tough but we need to go there with the right mentality to go and win the game.
“We need to make sure we prepare, recover, get back on the training pitch and make sure we improve.
“As a group of players, we need to improve to be where we want to be.”
⚽ Read our Man United live blog for the latest news from Old Trafford

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MANCHESTER UNITED threw all their ‘world-class players’ behind the ball to stop Liverpool, a frustrated Reds boss Jurgen Klopp said after their stalemate.
The two Premier League pace-setters played out a 0-0 draw at Anfield on Sunday as the Red Devils held on to their three-point advantage over last season’s champs.

Jurgen Klopp was left frustrated by Manchester United’s defensive tacticsCredit: Eddie Keogh Telegraph Media Group

United piled men behind the ball at AnfieldCredit: Getty Images – Getty

But German manager Klopp, 53, was exasperated by opposite man Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s defensive tactics.
He branded the Norwegian’s cautious style as the ‘worst thing you can face in football’.
After the match, Klopp told BBC Sport: “We played football, tried to do it, force them back into their own box.
“The worst thing you can face in the world, in football is you play against a side with world-class players and they all defend with all they have, deep in the box and only counter-attack.

“It’s really difficult – that’s the biggest challenge.”
Liverpool had the better of the first-half but David De Gea went largely untroubled between the sticks for United.
United held firm in a 4-2-3-1 shape and had plenty of men behind the ball to keep Liverpool’s famed front three of Mo Salah, Sadio Mane and Robert Firmino quiet.
Klopp added: “The performance was good, especially the first-half was exceptionally good.”

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United – who could soon lose their place at the summit of the Prem after Manchester City moved within two points with a game in hand – had just 34.3 per cent of possession.
But the table-toppers had the two best chances only for both Bruno Fernandes and Paul Pogba to fluff their lines with Alisson making smart stops.
Klopp continued: “I think with all the things that were said before the game – ‘United is flying and we are struggling’ – and then playing this kind of game, I was really happy with that.
“We tried it in the second half again but you cannot deny United for 95 minutes, especially with the counter-attacking threat they have.
“They had two really good chances, I have to say, but we had our chances in the second half too.”
⚽ Read our Man United live blog for the latest news from Old Trafford

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FEDERICO MACHEDA has admitted that loan moves and the wrong mentality prevented him from becoming a Manchester United star.
Few have burst onto the scene like the Italian, who struck two winners in his first two games for the club.

Federico Macheda struck a stunning winner past Aston Villa on his debutCredit: Getty – Contributor

Sir Alex Ferguson rang the Italian last year to check up on his progress

A stunning injury-time effort against Aston Villa in April 2009 was followed up by a sharp finish past Sunderland a week later.
Alas, the Italian failed to live up to his early promise and has opened up on his rise, fall, and rise again.
After almost two years in the United setup, he was sent on loan to Sampdoria for a spell that hammered his confidence.
Macheda, 29, told the Mail: “Those six months marred my career because they tried to kill me as a footballer.

“I started to doubt myself a little bit.
“We were fighting relegation and being attacked by people.
“They thought because I was from Manchester United I was going to save them, but I wasn’t ready.
“I was still a young guy. It wasn’t working and I wasn’t the one to make it work.”

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The striker would spend time at Queens Park Rangers, Stuttgart, Doncaster and Birmingham before leaving for Cardiff in 2014.
A quiet stint in South Wales was followed by two years back in Italy before finding his feet with Panathinaikos.
A record of 30 goals in 80 games for the Greek outfit is a very respectable return and Macheda acknowledged how tough it was to hit form again.
He continued: “It hasn’t been as good as I had hoped but I’ve learned a lot.
“I’ve overcome a lot of things in my career.
“Of course, I wish it could have gone another way, with the way it started and the way it was going.

If I could go back, I wouldn’t swap. I wouldn’t change that moment… Maybe it came too soon
Federico Macheda

“I was very down and I managed to turn things around and that isn’t easy in football, especially after the path I’ve had.
“But if I could go back, I wouldn’t swap. I wouldn’t change that moment. Maybe it came too soon, but it’s something that every United fan will remember.”
Nowadays, the shirt and a photo of his debut winner hang in the family home in Italy and Sir Alex Ferguson even called him up a year ago to check on his former prodigy.
Macheda has admitted that he perhaps was not well equipped to deal with the demanding life of a professional footballer.
That Villa goal came at the tender age of 17 and he would fail to ‘understand’ what was needed when the going got tough.
He said: “I think I could have done more.

Macheda struck a second winner a week after the Villa win, this time at SunderlandCredit: News Group Newspapers Ltd

The striker now plies his trade with Greek club PanathinaikosCredit: Reuters

“I was working in an amazing team and I feel I let myself down. The whole picture, not just one thing.
“The way of playing, looking after my body, my life.
“The way of thinking, because when you don’t play you have to fight and I was finding excuses.
“I had the wrong reaction and I wasn’t working as hard as I should have done.
“When you’re young, you don’t understand many things. If I had the mentality I have now, things could have been much different for me.”
⚽ Read our Man United live blog for the latest news from Old Trafford

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GARY NEVILLE has apologised for his ‘delirious’ commentary during Manchester United’s win at Burnley.
The Red Devils went top in front of their former defender – who was in the commentary box for Sky Sports – thanks to a deflected Paul Pogba volley in the second-half.

Gary Neville apologised for his commentary as Manchester United went top of the leagueCredit: PA:Press Association

Salford’s late win at Scunthorpe distracted the Sky Sports punditCredit: Rex Features

Neville was described by some on Twitter as ‘absolutely buzzing’ during the game and afterwards the former England player himself said of United going top: “It could easily turn the other way in three of four weeks time but like I said it’s not going to stop United fans getting carried away because why shouldn’t they?”
Neville, 45, has since admitted to missing the mark in his analysis – in part because in addition to a United victory, there was a late winner for his League Two side, Salford.
He tweeted on Wednesday night: “Apologies for the commentary tonight!
“Stockley Park all over the place, producer in my ear saying Salford have scored in the 92min and United gone top of the league!

“Delirious! I will be better Sunday.”

Apologies for the commentary tonight ! Stockley park all over the place , producer in my ear saying Salford have scored in the 92min and United gone top of the league ! Delirious ! I will be better Sunday 👍🏻
— Gary Neville (@GNev2) January 12, 2021

Indeed, Ian Henderson struck in the 89th minute of Salford’s trip to Scunthorpe to put the pundit’s side fifth in the table.
Along with a host of other United legends, the former right-back is a shareholder in the team and later retweeted a couple of celebratory moments from their game.
TURF MOOR CONTROVERSY
VAR was a regular feature in an at-times controversial affair at Turf Moor.

Viewers were left confused during the Burnley clash when Kevin Friend reviewed two major incidents from the same passage of play.
Luke Shaw followed through on Johann Berg Gudmundsson in a studs-up challenge originally deemed fair by the referee, before Robbie Brady scythed down Edinson Cavani moments later.
VAR asked Friend to review Shaw’s challenge, leading to a yellow card for the defender who Neville described as ‘lucky’ to dodge a dismissal.
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United fans were fuming before half-time when Harry Maguire’s goal was disallowed for a questionable foul in the area.
The visitors would escape a later VAR review for what would have been a controversial handball penalty against Maguire.
Neville suggested the centre-back could have been in trouble during the check, prompting some United fans to accuse their hero of leaning too far against his old team, in an apparent bid to appear unbiased.
With Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side top of the league ahead of Sunday’s trip to Liverpool, the pundit filmed himself humming a fan song dedicated to his playing days: “Gary Neville is a red, he hates Scousers.”

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PREMIER LEAGUE chiefs have revealed why Luke Shaw and Robbie Brady both dodged red cards in a mad minute at Burnley.
Manchester United’s win at Turf Moor involved a number of controversial calls, including a double VAR check in the first-half.

Luke Shaw’s tackle was initially allowed by Kevin Friend before a VAR reviewCredit: AP:Associated Press

Robbie Brady’s subsequent yellow card for scything down Edinson Cavani was rescindedCredit: Getty Images – Getty

Luke Shaw clattered into Johann Berg Gudmundsson in his half, a challenge that referee Kevin Friend deemed fair.
The ball then broke for a United attack which saw Edinson Cavani felled by Brady.
Claims were made that both challenges were worthy of dismissals, with Shaw missing the ball and landing his studs on Gudmundsson’s ankle.
Likewise, Brady wiped out Cavani in a tackle that would have seen the Uruguayan through on goal.

Fans watching on were left asking questions as to how the process played out and refereeing chiefs PGMOL have released a statement explaining the VAR calls.
It read: “In the 27th minute of Burnley vs. Manchester United, Robbie Brady was shown a yellow card for a foul on Edinson Cavani.
“On the recommendation of the VAR, referee Kevin Friend went to the Referee Review Area to check for a possible red card for Brady for a denial of a goalscoring opportunity offence and a possible foul by Luke Shaw that was in the same attacking phase of play.
“When the referee was at the screen, he was first shown the challenge by Shaw on Johann Berg Gudmundsson.

Kevin Friend checked the Shaw tackle for himself at the Turf Moor touchlineCredit: AFP

The left-back was shown a yellow card upon reviewCredit: EPA
“He determined that this was a foul and was part of the phase of play that led to the challenge by Brady.
“The restart was a Burnley free-kick, with Brady’s yellow card rescinded, and a yellow card issued to Shaw.”
Sky Sports pundit Jamie Redknapp was left surprised that Shaw was allowed to stay on the pitch.
He said: “I think Luke Shaw will be a relieved man in the dressing room.
“In the current climate where the game is so sanitised, I think he gets a little bit of the ball but certainly goes over the top and catches him.
‘For me that is reckless and dangerous. I think he is really lucky.”
Fellow Sky analyst and former United star Gary Neville agreed, deeming Shaw ‘lucky’.

VAR was called into action again later in the half with left-back Shaw crossing for Harry Maguire to nod home.
However, Friend and his replay officials agreed that the Red Devils captain had committed a foul in winning his header.
United nonetheless claimed all three points on Tuesday night thanks to Paul Pogba’s deflected volley.
The win put Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side top ahead of their weekend trip to defending champions Liverpool, who sit three points further back.
⚽ Read our Man United live blog for the latest news from Old Trafford

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