Liverpool 2 Manchester United 0: Five talking points from the Reds' first leg victory at Anfield

Marouane Fellaini and Roberto Firmino represented the contrasting fortunes of their respective clubs

Roberto Firmino celebrates scoring Liverpool's second goal of the night (Getty Images)

Times have changed

It was on this week not so long ago the first and second best teams in England were considered continental connoisseurs, dining at the Champions League table; with Manchester United snacking on Internazionale and Liverpool devouring Real Madrid in one easy first half gulp.

The sight of the sixth and seventh best teams in England seven years later making a big meal out of a Europa League tie was, perhaps, the equivalent of two itinerants squabbling over the last dregs of a cheap lager bottle.

Fixtures between Liverpool and United are rarely pretty and this wasn’t either but the absence of quality was laid bare by dubious midfields which possess neither the passing range nor thrust of those sides from the past.

Both clubs have at least one world class player

Daniel Sturridge was rendered unfit to take part in the shoot out defeat to Manchester City in the League Cup final at Wembley 11 days ago, so when he seized the ball from Jordan Henderson to take Liverpool’s first half penalty, it seemed like he was making a point, that he was, after all, willing to take ultimate responsibility at the crucial moment. Sturridge may have scored but only just, David de Gea getting a palm to his kick.

Thereafter, it became a duel between the pair. De Gea had been the difference between defeat and victory for United in Louis Van Gaal’s four wins over Liverpool in the last two seasons. That Liverpool could have held a three-goal advantage by half-time here had it not been for De Gea's presence reflected a continuation of his influence.

Marouane Fellaini is a monument to United’s struggles while Roberto Firmino represents Liverpool’s progress under Jürgen Klopp

For the second game running at Anfield, United’s strategy was clear: see Fellaini, find Fellaini, and then react as quickly as possible to what happens next.

It is a depressing vision seeing United reduced to such a feudal process. Van Gaal’s half-time tactical shift where he removed Marcus Rashford and introduced Michael Carrick was geared towards this joyless approach, enabling Daley Blind at left wing-back to aim for the Belgian waiting in the box whenever the opportunity came.

Firmino, meanwhile, has blossomed under Klopp, and in finishing Liverpool’s second goal in front of the Kop, he became the club’s leading scorer for the season with nine.

Carrick should be given a new contract despite error

Carrick will be 35 in July but that does not mean United should allow him to leave just because his wages are considerable and he is not a long-term investment with no hope of a sell-on fee, nor because he was at fault for Liverpool’s second goal.

At the break, the midfielder was sent on as an old-fashioned sweeper. Suddenly, United appeared less vulnerable because someone with vast experience was there, co-ordinating United’s play from a the deepest position.

Contract negotiations have not began with Carrick yet because officials at Old Trafford believe he will not be tempted to go anywhere else. His retaining, though, should be given a priority status because nobody else in United’s squad is capable of reminding others of the standards set by teams from a their greatest era.

Failed gimmick

Manchester United supporters had been requested to create a ‘wall of white,’ a plan dreamed up by some well-paid marketing director based well away from Old Trafford at the club’s commercial Mayfair offices in London.

Each of the 3,000 due to be in attendance in the away end were sent an email, confirming they would be supplied with a complimentary garment courtesy of the club by special delivery for that moment where the teams emerge from the bowels of Anfield’s main stand, in an effort to ‘Generate the best possible atmosphere.’

The few that turned up en-message had abandoned the idea way before kick off, nuzzling their chins into their coats when the masses arrived in standard football attire. Unsurprisingly, the atmosphere was just fine without corporate intervention.