"Oh, my god!" - Gary Neville and Roy Keane react to Harry Maguire's last-minute miss in Manchester United v Liverpool draw
Manchester United legends Gary Neville and Roy Keane reacted in disbelief after Harry Maguire squandered a golden opportunity to grab the winner during their 2-2 draw against Liverpool. The two sides faced each other in the Premier League at Anfield (January 5).
The Premier League giants played out an entertaining draw despite a goalless first half. Lisandro Martinez's thunderous effort gave Manchester United the lead (52') before Cody Gakpo responded with a brilliant shot seven minutes later to make it 1-1.
Mohamed Salah converted his penalty in the 70th minute to hand Liverpool the lead. However, Amad Diallo finished well (80') to get the Red Devils back into the game.
United had a massive chance to score the winner in the seventh minute of stoppage time after Joshua Zirkzee squared the ball for Harry Maguire inside the box. Despite having acres of space, the latter hit the ball on his first touch, skying it over the crossbar.
Neville told Sky Sports (via METRO):
"Oh, my god! I can’t believe it. It may just be offside but Harry Maguire wasn’t to know that. It’s bobbled into him, to be fair, he’s got a bit of work to do to control it, it’s halfway up his shin and that’s it."
Keane also said:
"Listen, that would have been amazing if they could have won it at the end but what they did was show plenty of fighting spirit. That’s what I asked for at the start of the game and the bonus was the quality of play, to score two goals, they nearly won it at the end."
"But listen, well done Manchester United and credit to both teams at the end. Both teams wanted to win it, nobody parking the bus at the end, two big clubs going at it. I think it was a fair result."
The Red Devils are 13th in the league table with 23 points from 20 games. Meanwhile, Liverpool remain at the top with 46 points from 19 games, six points above Arsenal with a game in hand.
"They were spirited but they also played with real quality" - Gary Neville provides verdict on Manchester United's performance in Liverpool draw
Manchester United icon Gary Neville was left impressed by his former side after they held leaders Liverpool to a 2-2 draw at Anfield. He credited the Red Devils for showing passion and playing with quality on the ball.
From the aforementioned source, Neville said:
"It was a fantastic match. There have been some disappointments over the years, I think four goalless draws in the last eight between these two. Roy Keane, before the game, asked for Manchester United to show some passion at the very least today and they did that in abundance."
He added:
"They were spirited but they also played with real quality. I think they deserve more than the 2-2. Harry Maguire, what a chance to win it.. Liverpool are still in a great position for the title. It’s been a proper match."
The Red Devils had 48 percent possession compared to the hosts' 52. However, they showed glimpses of promise going forward, landing 13 shots in total with four being on target. Meanwhile, Liverpool had 19 shots in total with six being on target (via FotMob).
Manchester United will next face Arsenal at the Emirates in the third round of the FA Cup on Sunday, January 12.
