Xherdan Shaqiri not surprised Liverpool dominated 'defensive' Manchester United
Shaqiri scored twice as a second-half substitute to earn all three points
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Your support makes all the difference.Xherdan Shaqiri was not surprised to see Liverpool dominate a ‘defensive’ Manchester United in the 3-1 victory over their historic rivals at Anfield on Sunday.
Shaqiri scored twice after coming on as a second-half substitute to secure victory and restore Liverpool’s one-point lead at the top of the Premier League table.
Jurgen Klopp’s side dominated for long spells on Sunday but an error by goalkeeper Alisson allowed Jesse Lingard to cancel out Sadio Mané’s opener.
Liverpool ended the day having made 36 attempts at United’s goal, while Jose Mourinho’s side had offered just six in response.
“I’m not surprised,” Shaqiri said, when the shot count was put to him after the final whistle.
“We know Manchester United plays defensively, they aren’t going to have a lot of ball possession and it was important today to play with high intensity, to press them high, to have the second balls and play forward fast to try and create a lot of chances.
“We did that today but obviously in the second half much better, and we scored in the end another two goals.
“We need to maybe do that better before, take the chances to score, because against big teams you have to take chances because the big teams can have only one chance and score. We managed that very well.”
Shaqiri restored Liverpool’s lead just 144 seconds after replacing Naby Keita as a second-half substitute, then secured all three points for Klopp’s side by scoring a second seven minutes later.
The Switzerland international has only started seven of Liverpool’s 17 league games so far this season following his £13million summer move from Stoke City and would prefer to be regularly playing from the off.
Even so, Shaqiri is happy to contribute when he can and uses his time on the bench wisely. The 27-year-old revealed he watched for spaces and gaps to exploit in United’s defence before making his match-winning cameo.
“Obviously I’d be lying if I said you are not disappointed when you are on the bench – every player is disappointed when he’s on the bench,” he said.
“But I always stay positive and try to help the team when I come on and you saw today when I came on I tried to help the team and to have an impact.
“[Klopp] said to me he wanted me to be in the game directly. I tried to be direct in the game and you can see also I prepared myself very [well].
“I watched the game from outside also, so you can see the spaces and there were a lot of spaces between the lines.
“I am very good between the lines and try to stay there and pick the ball up to have an impact and stay in the game. In the end I scored two goals and we won the game, that’s a perfect day for us.”
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