Manchester United have a lucky charm in games against Liverpool, or so Louis van Gaal was led to believe. A common ingredient in all four of the Dutch manager’s impressive run of wins against United’s north west rivals was Marouane Fellaini, and the Belgian was duly brought back after a month’s absence in an attempt to prolong his side’s invulnerability. It did not quite work, and it was perhaps no surprise Van Gaal ended up bringing all his other midfield options on before the end.

Though adept at getting his head to the ball and holding it up when in forward positions, Fellaini rarely dominates in midfield contests, and he and Morgan Schneiderlin were outnumbered by the trio of Emre Can, Jordan Henderson and Adam Lallana who kept Liverpool driving forward.

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The Belgian midfielder had threatened to be influential right from the start, dummying a header to free Memphis Depay for a cross from the left from which Marcus Rashford had a chance to open the scoring in the first minute. Then Fellaini was straight into the action at the other end, using his strength to block first Lallana then Can on the edge of the area. He was pushing his luck to an extent, with the Spanish referee Carlos Velasco Carballo known to be a stickler for discipline, though managed to get through the early exchanges without being pulled up for a foul.

Depay was not quite so lucky in giving away the penalty from which Liverpool took the lead. United’s attempts to stay compact in their own half and not over-commit themselves in attack were undone when Nathaniel Clyne went tumbling in the box, and though contact was minimal and quite possibly outside the area, Depay paid the price for being caught in the wrong part of the pitch. Just minutes earlier, when United sent a few too many players over the half-way line to try and get on the end of a free-kick, it was Rashford from the opposite wing who had shown the speed and alertness to get back and cover.

United then had to decide whether to chase the game or keep their discipline and defensive organisation. They opted for the latter, with Fellaini using his height to good effect as an extra defender and occasionally getting forward to act as a target for long balls from the back. Liverpool might have been out of sight by the interval, never mind the second leg, but for David de Gea’s reactions in keeping out Philippe Coutinho and Daniel Sturridge, yet as long as there was only one goal in it United still had hope. The two leg dynamic did lead to an even more cautious approach than has been usual under Van Gaal. When Anthony Martial found himself in space in the Liverpool half just before the interval he looked around in vain for team-mates in support of the break and found none available. Rashford was in a position more suited to a right-back, Juan Mata was marked and Martial ended up playing the ball a long way backwards to Fellaini.

Van Gaal decided he needed a change at half-time, and not just the introduction of Michael Carrick. The substitute did not come on as an additional midfielder, as might have been expected, but an extra central defender. Van Gaal does not do things by halves and he changed his system mid-match to three at the back, taking off Rashford and asking Guillermo Varela and Daley Blind to operate as wing backs. With Marcos Rojo moving inside as a centre-back that meant the entire defence had subtly changed position. It probably says a good deal about Van Gaal’s coaching, as well as his decisiveness, that United were able to make the transition fairly smoothly.

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If the idea was to accept defeat and keep the score to reasonable proportions it worked until the error from Carrick that led to the second goal, though only because De Gea had already proved capable again in keeping out goalbound efforts from Coutinho and Clyne. United’s nearest thing to a lucky charm on the night was their goalkeeper, not Fellaini who ended up being booked for a foul on Clyne and is likely to cited for a cynical late elbow on Can. While this was a first defeat in five games for United against Liverpool, it will only be remembered as such if Jürgen Klopp’s team make it through the second leg. The tie is only half way through, and though United are still in it, the second goal undeniably handed Liverpool an advantage. Not an undeserved advantage either, given De Gea’s outstanding contribution to a poor overall display. The goalkeeper was the only United player on the pitch who would make it into a combined XI from this match, but there was not a lot even he could do when Carrick practically passed to Roberto Firmino on the six yard line. Use too many players out of position, and accidents will happen.