Manchester United moves one step closer to the Champions League, while Liverpool suffers a self-inflicted defeat! Carrick schedules extra training sessions

Manchester United’s spot in the Premier League top five was further stabilized on Sunday without them playing. The sky over Manchester was blue, and the Red Devils wished for Manchester City to avoid defeat at Liverpool’s Anfield. In the end, Guardiola’s side overturned the scoreline to win 2-1. Additionally, a dramatic event in injury time meant Liverpool lost both the game and a key midfielder, with Sobosloi set to miss the next match away at Sunderland.

After Manchester City took a 2-1 lead, Liverpool pushed forward aggressively to equalize. In the 100th minute, City’s French midfielder Serki launched a counterattack; from midfield, he struck the ball towards an open goal, and it found the net, making it 3-1. However, Liverpool players continuously argued with the referee, complaining that Haaland had pulled Sobosloi in the final moments, preventing him from guarding the empty goal.

Ultimately, the goal was disallowed, but Sobosloi was shown a retroactive red card and will be suspended for one match. Although Liverpool retained a slim hope of salvaging a draw in the final moments, the remaining stoppage time was too short to score, resulting in a loss both on the scoreboard and in personnel.

According to the referee’s explanation: “Haaland did pull Sobosloi’s shirt before the ball crossed the line, so the goal was ruled out. However, because of this, a previous favorable decision on the attack was overturned. Sobosloi had initially pulled Haaland, blocking a clear scoring chance, hence the red card. Manchester City was awarded a direct free kick outside the penalty area.”

This was a lose-lose decision: Manchester City lost a clean goal difference, while Liverpool lost a key player. Hungarian star Sobosloi performed excellently in this match, scoring a stunning direct free kick that gave Liverpool a temporary 1-0 lead.

Interestingly, Haaland and Sobosloi were once teammates at Red Bull Salzburg and share a good relationship. But in this game, they clashed twice directly; besides the controversial last-minute decision, before Haaland took the winning penalty, Sobosloi even tried to distract him. Haaland revealed he told Sobosloi: “This is the first time I don’t want to talk to you, please leave me alone!”

Haaland was also unhappy with the referee’s ruling: “The referee followed the rules, but in the end, I feel sorry for Sobosloi. Now he faces a three-match suspension; it would have been simpler just to let the goal stand and not show a red card! But rules are rules, and there’s nothing you can do.”

Haaland misunderstood; Sobosloi committed a normal foul, so the red card only results in a one-match suspension. However, this is good news for Manchester United. Carrick’s team now leads Liverpool by 5 points, and if Liverpool drops points again next round due to the suspension of a key player, the Red Devils will gain a bigger advantage.

This Premier League season is likely to gain an additional Champions League spot again, meaning fifth place will also qualify for the Champions League. Manchester United currently sit fourth, 3 points behind third-place Aston Villa and 1 point ahead of fifth-place Chelsea.

On Sunday, Carrick and assistant Steve Holland returned to Carrington to analyze the match against Tottenham and prepare for the next Premier League game on Tuesday away at West Ham. The players originally had a day off after the match, but due to the short interval between games, they returned to training for recovery and preparation.

West Ham is the club where Carrick played during his career. The team currently sits in the relegation zone but is only 3 points away from safety. The “Hammers” have been inconsistent recently, capable of beating Tottenham but also losing 0-3 to Wolves. Facing such a volatile opponent, Manchester United must stay fully alert.

If victorious, Carrick will achieve five consecutive wins as manager, much to the delight of a fan named Frank Elliott, who has been closely following on social media. This would mean he can finally get a haircut after more than 500 days.

On October 5, 2024, this British fan living in Spain vowed he would not cut his hair unless Manchester United achieved five straight wins. Now, with just one game remaining before fulfilling his promise, Frank hinted he plans to watch the match live in London.

When asked about this topic, Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes refused to hype it up. “I only book my own hairdresser, I don’t care about others,” Bruno said expressionlessly. “Whether fans cut their hair or not doesn’t matter to me.”