Raphael Varane was a rock in the heart of the Manchester United defence and had the stats to back it up.
United infuriated Liverpool in their 0-0 draw at Anfield, much to the home side’s annoyance.
Virgil van Dijk took a swipe at the Red Devils, saying that only one team tried to get all three points.
“If you see how we played the game, we had most of the ball and created some opportunities,” he told Sky Sports. “There was only one team trying to win the game.”
Liverpool had 34 shots on Andre Onana’s goal, but only eight of those were on target.
That was largely thanks to the rock solid performances of centre-back duo Varane and Jonny Evans, who have a combined age of 75.
It was a masterclass in defending from the experienced pair and would have only added to the exasperation of Van Dijk and co.
Varane himself made 15 clearances, won all four of his aerial duels, made three interceptions and two blocks. Only Ethan Pinnock has made more clearances in the Premier League this season with 17.
Chris Smalling is the only Manchester United player to make more clearances in a Premier League game in the last eight seasons than Raphael Varane did against Liverpool (15). He made 19 against Leicester in 2017.
“I told you. You have to fight always for the badge,” United manager Erik ten Hag said when asked if it showed his team was unified.
“This was a very good performance, you saw Liverpool’s results at home and we got a clean sheet. In the second half we had some very good chances, then you can take the points from here but we are pleased with the performance of the team.
“The way we defended it was almost perfect. When we made a mistake there was always a team-mate to sort it out. I think that is the big win from today, we have to keep this and bring this every game.
“Always you have to fight for each other. At Manchester United it is always the same: we are against the rest.”
Man United WhatsApp channel
Get Manchester United news, features and the best opinion from talkSPORT pundits in our WhatsApp channel.
Follow our Man United channel HERE.
https://talksport.com/football/1681399/raphael-varane-premier-league-record-liverpool-virgil-van-dijk/
#fantasyfootball #Sports #Betting #sportsbetting #sportsbettingadvice #freepick #freepicks #sportsbettingtips #handicapping #predictions #sportspredictions #NFL #esports #espn #NBA #NHL #sportsprediction #ncaa #mlb #WNBA #prediction #nhl #nhlplayoffs #nhlpicks #nbapicks #NBAPlayoffs #NFLPlayoffs #espnsports #bettingsports #bettingtips #bettingonline #bettingexpert #basketball #football #soccer #hockey #sportspicks #ncaabasketball #foxsports #cbssports #soccerpredictions #sportingbet