5 things we learned from Manchester United’s victory over Liverpool

Bailly and Smalling are a solid centre-half pairing

Not many were worried when the news broke that Eric Bailly was returning to the Manchester United XI today. But when he was paired with Chris Smalling, you could be forgiven for being a tad nervous.

Chris Smalling, other than the display at Newcastle, has been in terrific form of late. But the worry was whether Bailly and Smalling would be too similar. They are both “all or nothing” at times when heading into challenges. They both struggle passing out from the back with competence too.

However, against Liverpool, they were outstanding. Bailly was the more glamorous of the two, despite his own goal. He won numerous tackles, coming away with the ball often calmness personified. The Ivory Coast international won the joint most interceptions (5) and had the second-best passing accuracy (89.5%) of the starters.

Chris Smalling equally impressive, but in his usual way of looking relatively clumsy. Smalling made more clearances (12) than anyone else and blocked the most shots (4).

Whatever people say about Chris Smalling, it’s clear Jose Mourinho trusts him. He has played in every match against the top six this season. As well as this he was given the captains armband, rather than the usual choice of Paul Pogba when Antonio Valencia left the field at Selhurst Park on Monday.

Shoutout to Ashley Young today too who was superb. Fans have been urging for Luke Shaw to start recently but Young proved today why Mourinho trusts the veteran.