Bruno Fernandes was once again the Manchester United hero as his stunning free kick took Manchester United to the fifth round of the FA Cup with a 3-2 win at Old Trafford.
Mohamed Salah opened the scoring early in the game in the 18th minute, but eight minutes later Manchester United would equalize through a Mason Greenwood goal.
Marcus Rashford would score to give them the the lead in the second half after a bad defensive play from Liverpool defender Rhys Williams. But Salah would equalize 10 minutes later.
Here are some takeaways from the match which came a week after both teams played to a lacklustre 0-0 draw at Anfield:
Bruno Fernandes comes through for Manchester United once again
Ever since Fernandes has joined the Red Devils, he has done nothing but provide goals and results. And once again yesterday, he did just that.
The Portuguese maestro stepped up to take a free-kick from just outside the penalty area, a tough task many would think, but Fernandes made it look relatively easy. He stepped up and curled it past the wall and into the bottom right corner of Alisson’s net
When you’re that close to the penalty area and with a wall of people in front of you, the odds of scoring are slim, but Fernandes seemed to approach it as if the odds were perfect. It was like he calculated exactly what he needed to do, where he needed to hit it to get that perfect angle for it to fall right into the bottom corner of the net. It landed in the only place Alisson couldn’t really reach.
Marcus Rashford keeps growing as a player
It has been a consistent run of form for Rashford, who can play almost anywhere Ole Gunnar Solskjaer needs him to play in. Once again, he was reliable and diligent on the left flank, a side he is not used in too often but if he plays like he did Sunday, Solskjaer might be best served starting him there more often.
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Rashford was able to attack Trent Alexander-Arnold all game who is out-of-form right now and missing the covering presence of Jordan Henderson. And the Englishman was at his destructive best against the Liverpool right-back.
If the ball came to him he would already be looking up to drive the ball at the Liverpool defence and have them commit to him so that he could get past them with ease. Rashford put through a beautifully weighted cross over the head of four Liverpool defenders onto an on rushing Greenwood who made no mistake with the finish.
Rashford has been on a good run of form and it seems no matter where he is placed, he gives the other team’s defence headaches.
United will now look back to the Premier League as they take on Sheffield United at home before heading to Arsenal to close out the month of January in what they hope will be another undefeated month.