Well, that was quite a game.
It’s hard to put into words how special that win feels. To beat our biggest rivals, on their home turf, after the season we had in 2024/25 and the start we have had in 2025/26 – it’s just incredible. An important win of course, especially now, but more than that, it feels symbolic.
I’m not going to lose my head and start telling everyone that Manchester United are back, but it definitely feels like a corner is being turned. Back to back wins, the team feels like it’s starting to gel on the pitch and off, the bad apples are gone, and we just beat Liverpool 2-1 at Anfield.
There’s something poetic about the way it happened too. An early opener from Bryan Mbeumo, arguably our best new signing in years, and a match winning goal from Harry Maguire, a United veteran who has had more than his fair share of struggles. The new and the old bookmarking a win that nobody expected.
I’m going to enjoy it, because Lord knows we have had little enough to enjoy recently, but I’m also going to stay real.
We Also Got Lucky
That was a big 3 points for us, and I genuinely think we deserved it. Our forward line looked agile and dangerous, with great support from Amad and Bruno, and we soaked up a lot of pressure defensively. We were surprisingly good at defending set pieces, too. Oh, and isn’t it nice to have a proper goalkeeper again?
Perhaps most importantly, we didn’t completely go to jelly when Liverpool equalised as we have been known to do in the past.
Both sides had some excellent chances and played some very nice football, but it can’t be denied that United were going up against a far superior side. Liverpool spent half a billion pounds over the Summer, and they were already defending champions, so it’s fair to say Manchester United were the underdogs: bookies were pricing United at 4/1 to win vs 3/5 for Liverpool to win.
I think Manchester United played well, but we also got lucky on numerous occasions. Liverpool hit the woodwork three times, and Gakpo missed an absolute sitter towards the end. On any other day, one or more of those were in.
That’s not to take away from anything Bruno and the boys did well, I’m just saying, we got lucky on several occasions and that contributed to our win.
Can We Talk About Harry Maguire?
I have to admit, there was a time when I thought it would be best for Harry Maguire to leave Manchester United. I wasn’t hating on him, I thought it was right for him and for the club. His luck was terrible, his form wasn’t amazing, stripped of the captaincy, getting tons of flak online – it was horrible to watch.
West Ham were apparently interested and I just thought, for your own sake Harry, move on.
Then, Mr. Harold Maguire went on to show the world exactly what it means to be a professional, in the truest sense of the word.
He took everything that was thrown at him. He took it all. He never lashed out, he never bit back, he just got his head down and kept working. In a world full of egos and tantrums, where spoilt brat players cause trouble via social media and go on strike until they get what they want, Harry Maguire set an example of what it means to be a man.
The importance of that, especially during a time when the club is trying to reset the culture, cannot be overstated.
He’s still not a regular starter, but he is arguably more important now than he has ever been. He has an elite mentality. He is a shining example to young players coming through. He comes on and does his job and expects nothing in return. But how many times this year has he been the hero? He saved us in the FA Cup against Leicester in February, he was the hero in April in Lyon, and he was the hero yesterday at Anfield.
Honestly, I have never enjoyed watching a player’s resurgence as much as this. Harry Maguire is a prime example of what a Manchester United player should look like, and I couldn’t be happier for him after that Man of the Match performance.