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6 years ago today – Man United thrashed a Suarez-less Liverpool at Old Trafford

Manchester United beat Liverpool 3-0 in the Premier League, 6 years ago today on 14th December. (GETTY Images)
Manchester United beat Liverpool 3-0 in the Premier League, 6 years ago today on 14th December. (GETTY Images)

Manchester United handed Liverpool a footballing lesson 6 years ago today in 2014

Blast from the past: Manchester United beat a hapless Liverpool 3-0 at Old Trafford 6 years ago today in 2014.

Liverpool had started the 2014/15 season in underwhelming fashion, mainly because of losing Luis Suarez to FC Barcelona at the end of their ‘nearly’ 2013/14 season.

Nine months prior to this match, Liverpool beat Manchester United at Old Trafford by a 3-0 scoreline. However, United were aiming for revenge and took advantage of a Suarez-less Liverpool which was toothless in attack.

Juan Mata heads United's second goal against Liverpool. (GETTY Images)
Juan Mata heads United’s second goal against Liverpool. (GETTY Images)

Led by Louis van Gaal, United had a blazing start to the match. Wayne Rooney put them in front, courtesy of a pin-point pass at the edge of the box by Antonio Valencia.

In the pre-VAR days. no one was there to cross-check Juan Mata’s offside header which put the Red Devils in front. In the middle of all of this, David de Gea was having a monumental game.

The Spaniard made an array of saves, denying Sterling twice and Balotelli once as he prevented Liverpool from coming back into the game. De Gea’s top form killed any momentum that Brendan Rodgers’ side had.

David de Gea saves a shot from Raheem Sterling in Manchester United's 2-0 win in December 2014 against Liverpool. (GETTY Images)
David de Gea saves a shot from Raheem Sterling in Manchester United’s 2-0 win in December 2014 against Liverpool. (GETTY Images)

United scored their 3rd goal in the second-half after a great counter-attack and sealed the scoreline at 3-0. At the end of the game, the plaudits were rightly focused on United’s Spanish stopper.

The result saw Manchester United go 3rd in the Premier League table after 16 matches, trailing leaders Chelsea by 8 points. (h/t BBC)

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The Red Devils went on to finish the 2014/15 Premier League season in 4th. They ended with 70 points, 17 behind title winners Chelsea.

Wayne Rooney celebrates after scoring against Liverpool in 2014. (GETTY Images)
Wayne Rooney celebrates after scoring against Liverpool in 2014. (GETTY Images)

Despite not winning a trophy, the season was not deemed to be disastrous as United qualified for the UEFA Champions League again after missing out on European qualification altogether in 2013/14.

Written by Aniket Rai

An ordinary football fan, doing what he loves.

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