Liverpool v Manchester United under the lights at Anfield, on a Thursday night. What a treat.
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the first European meeting between these two rivals as they meet in the first-leg of their Europa League round of 16 tie.
Kick-off on Merseyside is at 8.05pm.
Lets get straight to the teams.
Jurgen Klopp makes three changes to his side from the weekend’s win over Crystal Palace.
Daniel Sturridge starts in place of Divock Origi, who is named on the bench with Christian Benteke, who struck the decisive penalty with seconds remaining at Selhurst Park.
Nathaniel Clyne comes in for Jon Flanagan, with the 23-year-old not registered for the competition. Philippe Coutinho starts but James Milner misses out due to a virus.
For the visitors, Marouane Fellaini is given the nod from the start after recovering from a hamstring injury.
Louis van Gaal has made four changes from the defeat to West Brom with Guillermo Varela preferred to Matteo Darmian. In central midfield, Fellaini partners Morgan Schneiderlin, while the suspended Jesse Lingard is replaced by Memphis Depay.
Louis van Gaal arriving a little earlier.
There are eight ties taking place across Europe this evening with this clash and the meeting of Borussia Dortmund and Tottenham the headline games.
Here are the latest scores from the 6pm kick-offs:
- Basel 0-0 Sevilla
- Borussia Dortmund 2-0 Tottenham
- Fenerbahce 0-0 Braga
- Shakhtar Donetsk 2-0 Anderlecht
- Athletic Bilbao v Valencia (8.05)
- Liverpool v Man United (8.05)
- Sparta Prague v Lazio (8.05)
- Villarreal v Bayer Leverkusen (8.05)
Tonight’s game is live on BT Sport but if you can’t get to a TV, we’ll bring you every kick off the ball here.
More on tonight’s big team news here.
Just 15 minutes until kick-off now. Which way do you see this one going? Get your pre-match predictions in now or forever hold your peace.
E-mail ryan@the42.ie, tweet @the42_ie, post a message to our Facebook wall, or leave a comment below.
As you would expect, crackling atmosphere under the lights at Anfield. This one really is all set-up for a cracker, lets hope it delivers.
Incredible rendition of You’ll Never Walk Alone before kick-off. Hair-raising stuff and the players are ready in the tunnel.
Final check of the teams.
Liverpool: Mignolet; Clyne, Lovren, Sakho, Moreno; Can, Henderson; Lallana, Coutinho, Firmino; Sturridge
Subs: Ward, Benteke, Touré, Allen, Origi, Smith, Ojo
United: De Gea; Varela, Smalling, Blind, Rojo; Schneiderlin, Fellaini; Memphis, Mata, Martial; Rashford
Subs: Romero, Darmian, Riley, Carrick, Schweinsteiger, Weir, Herrera
Absolutely deafening at Anfield. United, in their changed white kit, will attack the Kop end in the first-half. Here we go.
Kick-off! The visitors get us underway.
United start on the front foot as Depay whips in a cross from the left. It comes all the way through to young Marcus Rashford but he’s caught unaware and the chance is gone.
Booking! Jordan Henderson is shown a yellow card by the Spanish referee after just two minutes. The Liverpool skipper caught Morgan Schneiderlin but he’ll argue he got the ball.
The opening exchanges have been frenetic and Liverpool are looking to put the visitors under some early pressure. Rashford runs the ball out of defence for United and wins a free-kick on the near touchline.
The home side enjoying all the early possession but United are trying to press them high. It pays dividends on this occasion as Mata nips in to steal the ball before Guillermo Varela is fouled by Moreno.
Mata whips in the free-kick but it just has too much height on it and that gives Simon Mignolet the chance to come off his line and gather.
United are enjoying a decent spell in the last few minutes but have yet to ask any real questions of the Liverpool defence. Both teams are pressing high and trying not to give the opposition any time in possession.
Two legends.
Liverpool are moving the ball nicely but the final pass has just let them down so far. There’s not a whole lot of room in midfield but Coutinho is dropping between the lines with Sturridge occupying the lone striker role.
Moreno has acres of space down the left and his low cross finds Sturridge at the back post. He’s crowded out and his pass to Lallana is cut out.
Penalty! Memphis is penalised for bringing Clyne down in the box.
GOAL! Liverpool 1-0 Man United (Sturridge)
And Sturridge keeps his cool to convert past De Gea.
It didn’t take long for the breakthrough and Liverpool are firmly in the ascendancy now. Sturridge drops out to the left and Rojo needs to head his cross behind. Nothing comes from the corner but United under a lot of pressure.
On the penalty decision, it looked a harsh one. Henderson played the ball through and Clyne tumbled under the challenge of Memphis but the contact was minimal.
What a save! De Gea with a brilliant save. Liverpool tear United apart again and Sturridge’s cross-come-shot trickles across for Coutinho but somehow the goalkeeper scrambles back to claw the goalbound effort off the line.
While that was a brilliant piece of goalkeeping from De Gea, Coutinho’s effort was weak. He had the goal at his mercy but didn’t get enough purchase on it.
The Kop in full voice now as their team steals a march in this tie.
Can you spot the familiar face(s) in the away end this evening?
Save! It could be two or three for Liverpool. United are all over the place at the back and once again De Gea comes to their rescue. Smalling slips and allows the ball to go through to Sturridge.
He composes himself before putting his left boot through it, only for De Gea to thwart him from the angle.
Sturridge’s penalty separates the sides.
Liverpool are totally dominant and should really lead by more than just the one. If this pattern continues, the tie could well be decided tonight.
Brief moment of respite for the visitors as the Spanish referee awards United a free in a dangerous position. Memphis lines it up, a shot at redemption perhaps? But his effort is wild and it was never troubling Mignolet.
Lallana tests De Gea again and the United goalkeeper is up to the task. United hanging on a bit as half-time approaches.
Dejan Lovren goes into the book as United look to finish the half strongly. They break forward but the move is slowed down and it eventually falls to Rojo, who fires well over from range.
And that’s half-time! Daniel Sturridge’s penalty the difference but Liverpool have been utterly dominant.
Pretty much sums it up.
Michael Carrick is coming on for the visitors at the start of this second-half. He replaces Marcus Rashford.
Back underway. Can United find a route back into the game or will Liverpool continue their dominance?
Rashford the man to be withdrawn at the break.
Coutinho is the latest to receive a yellow, and it’s certainly deserved, as he looked to win a free-kick on the edge of the area.
Better spell of possession for the visitors as they look to work their way back into the game but there’s just no cutting edge or incisiveness.
United have had plenty of the ball since the restart but as of yet have been unable to do anything with it. It’s going sideways rather than forward.
Save! Sweet strike from Coutinho and De Gea is forced into another smart stop as he tips the dipping effort over the bar.
The introduction of Carrick has made a difference as United have something of a foothold now – but Liverpool look dangerous every time they venture forward.
Brilliant piece of footwork in the corner from Clyne to draw the foul and Marouane Fellaini goes into the book. Jurgen Klopp is about to make his first change with Joe Allen readying himself.
And he comes on for Daniel Sturridge. A little under 30 minutes remaining at Anfield.
Clyne, who has been very impressive all evening, lets fly from distance and stings De Gea’s fingertips.
Chance! Liverpool turning the screw again. Lallana gets to the byline and pulls it back for Henderson. The Reds skipper comes onto it but after opening his body up can’t keep his effort on target.
This Spanish official has made some questionable decisions this evening and on this occasion he penalises Rojo for a high foot on the edge of the area. The set-piece comes to nothing but Liverpool retain possession.
GOAL! Liverpool 2-0 Man United (Firmino)
Carrick fails to clear the danger and Lallana pounces to square for Firmino to fire home.
Liverpool deserve their two goal advantage and they’re going for the kill now. It’s all one-way traffic at the moment with Liverpool attacking the Kop.
This has been a woefully pitiful and abject performance from Man United. It’s staggering how far they’ve fallen.
Klopp makes his second change as the second goalscorer makes his way off to a standing ovation. Origi is on for the final seven minutes.
Schweinsteiger throws a ball into the box and Fellaini rises highest – but his header sails wide. It’s been a truly awful night for the visitors and they face an uphill task to turn this tie around.
Two minutes of added time at Anfield.
Full-time! Liverpool take a big step towards the Europa League quarter-finals by winning the bragging rights on the night.
It’s very much advantage Liverpool heading into next week’s second-leg at Old Trafford. It will be fascinating to hear what Louis van Gaal has to offer after that performance from his side.
There was no fight or desire from the visitors and they were bullied from start to finish by a Liverpool side superior in every aspect.
Thanks for joining us this evening.
The42 is on Snapchat! Tap the button below on your phone to add!
