Manchester United vs Liverpool player ratings: Ashley Young brilliant but Mohamed Salah fails to impress for once

Man marking: Who impressed and who struggled at the Theatre of Dreams?

Marcus Rashford struck twice as Manchester United won the 200th North West derby with a 2-1 victory over Liverpool at Old Trafford on Saturday to open up a five point gap on their third-placed rivals.

United survived a frantic final 10 minutes after a bizarre own goal from defender Eric Bailly had given Liverpool a route back into the game but Jurgen Klopp’s attack, so effective through this season, were unable to carve any clear openings.

Any fears that United manager Jose Mourinho would park the bus as he did in the goalless reverse fixture, were eased by the team selection which led to an attacking formation despite the absence of French midfielder Paul Pogba. He was ruled out after picking up an injury in training on Friday.

Rashford had not started in 2018 and had only made five substitute appearances but he was to be the central figure in this encounter, which had all the adrenalin, aggression and endeavour associated with one of English football’s mostly hotly contested rivalries.

But how did the two teams compare?

Check the gallery above to see how we rated both sets of players. Agree? Disagree? Let us know in the comments below. But no naughty words, alright.

Additional reporting by Reuters.