March Soccer Highlights: Liverpool Annihilate Manchester United, Chelsea Rebound

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Soccer Football – Premier League – Liverpool v Manchester United – Anfield, Liverpool, Britain – March 5, 2023 General view of the score board REUTERS/Carl Recine EDITORIAL USE ONLY. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or ‘live’ services. Online in-match use limited to 75 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club /league/player publications. Please contact your account representative for further details. TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

Vince Kim

Liverpool Demolish Manchester United at Anfield

Liverpool marked a 7-0 victory against United in their first March matchup, the biggest win ever against these historic rivals. The final third of Liverpool — Darwin Núñez, Cody Gakpo, and Mohamed Salah — scored two goals apiece, racking a total of six out of the seven goals. Jürgen Klopp’s team has now propelled themselves well into potential Champions League qualification, as they trail behind Tottenham Hotspur(4th) by three points. 

The Sunday matchup also showed Liverpool’s bright future with Gakpo and Núñez. Although both struggled to make an impact after their record transfers, Gakpo has now scored 4 goals in the last six matches, and Núñez has also scored 4 goals in his last four matches. With enough time, both of their raw talents can be converted into a much more lethal goal-scoring instinct.

While much should be attributed to the Reds and their fans on home ground, United’s loss could be blamed for manager Erik Ten Hag’s tactical mistakes. Instead of starting Bruno Fernandes as an attacking midfielder or Marcus Rashford as a left winger, Ten Hag ordered Fernandes at the left and Rashford as a lone striker. His decision to start Weghorst as an attacking midfielder proved fatal in the end, as Fernandes could not penetrate defenses with his passes as a winger, nor could Weghorst follow Fernandes’s impact.

 

Chelsea Knockout Dortmund: Redemption Run for Potter and Blues

Trailing in the Champions League Round of 16 by a 1-0 deficit against Borussia Dortmund, Chelsea overturned the results with a 2-0 win to secure a spot in the UCL quarter-finals. This second leg match comes as a complete turnaround, as Chelsea put on largely lackluster performances in the PL recently. 

Chelsea opened the first 45 minutes with a fierce attack. Kai Havertz recorded two key opportunities, but wasted the first by hitting the post and being called offside for the second. Just before the referee’s whistle at half, Stamford Bridge roared in celebration as Raheem Sterling bagged the Blues first goal with a six-yard volley. 

Following Sterling’s goal, Chelsea was awarded a penalty ten minutes into the second half, to which Havertz blasted his shot onto the post. However, Dortmund was called for encroachment — players stepping within a restricted area during a penalty kick — giving Havertz a second opportunity that he converted to extend Chelsea’s lead to two and provide his team the game-winner.