Manchester United beat Liverpool 2-1 at Anfield on Sunday, moving them into ninth place in the Premier League table and within two points of qualifying for the Champions League.
Harry Maguire’s late header sealed victory for the visitors, giving the Red Devils all three points at Anfield for the first time since January 2016.
Just six minutes after Cody Gakpo’s equalizer, Bruno Fernandes volleyed a superb ball onto his backstick and the England international flicked the ball back into the far corner.
Although it was Maguire who scored the winning goal, United were grateful to Sene Lamence for their scoring performance to secure the three points.
Why Senne Lamence helped Manchester United win against Liverpool
United have been plagued by problems with their goalkeeper over the past few seasons. According to Sofascore, in the first six games of the Premier League season, Altai Vaindir conceded 0.84 more goals than expected and also made one mistake that led to a goal.
However, Lamence joins from Royal Antwerp and looks like a safe pairing. After keeping a clean sheet against Sunderland, the Belgian giants made four saves against Liverpool and allowed 1.25 goals against, according to SofaScore.
The save choice came in the first half, when he wisely stepped out to force a shot into the net and deny British record signee Alexander Isak from scoring.
Given Altai’s poor performances at the beginning of the season, without his shot-stopping and calmness in behind the defense, Man United could have taken a point or just zero points from Anfield.
Lamence is a shining light in goal and should be considered irreplaceable, but Mason Mount should be left out of the starting XI by Ruben Amorim.
Why Manchester United should let Mason Mount go
The England international, who scored against Sunderland before the suspension, started as part of a fluid front three alongside Matheus Cunha and Brian Mbeumo, with Benjamin Sesco on the bench.
It was a tactic that worked to some extent, as the movement across the front confused the Liverpool defense and led to some promising moments, including Mbeumo’s goal.
However, Mount’s individual performances suggest the £66.4m signing from RB Leipzig should return as a mainstay against Brighton next weekend.
vs Liverpool | mason mount | Benjamin Sesco |
|---|---|---|
minutes | 61 | 29 |
shot | 2 | 1 |
missed a big opportunity | 1 | 0 |
touch | 19 | 19 |
Pass accuracy | 58% | 62% |
key pass | 0 | 1 |
A big opportunity has arisen | 0 | 0 |
dribbling success | 0 | 1 |
won a duel | 1/3 | 4/6 |
Statistics by Sofascore | ||
As you can see from the table above, Sesco created more chances, completed more dribbles and won four times more duels in about half the time he was on the pitch.
The Slovenian international, who has scored twice in the Premier League this season, has a physical presence at the top end of the pitch, allowing Mbeumo and Cunha to play him off, something they didn’t have when Mount and Cunha were rotating in the number nine role.
Mount played the role asked of him by Amorim and energized the win against Liverpool, but in the end, his efforts in and out of possession were underwhelming, as his touches on the ball (19) were even fewer than Lamence’s goals (55), according to SofaScore.
This is why the head coach should be ruthless in removing Sesco from the starting XI in order to bring Sesco back into charge for the next game against Brighton, as the former Leipzig man is a natural number nine who can provide a greater threat in front of goal.
