Author: Rory Smith / Source: New York Times
Phil Noble/Reuters
MANCHESTER, England — Jürgen Klopp was walking along the edge of the Old Trafford field, on his way from the changing room to speak to the assembled news media, when Liverpool’s fans spotted him.
They had been corralled inside the stadium for 20 minutes or so after the final whistle, until the Manchester police had determined it was safe for them to be accompanied out.
They had entertained themselves by singing, for a while, but had gradually fallen quiet, as if trying to work out their emotional reaction to the 0-0 draw they had just seen.And then Klopp appeared. As they lingered in the aisles, ringed by stewards, they turned to salute him. “Liverpool, top of the league,” they sang. Klopp had spent most of the afternoon with a deep-set scowl on his face, barking instructions at his players, bristling and bubbling with dissatisfaction.
As he got closer, though, as he worked out what they were singing, he put one hand on his heart — on the Liverpool crest on his top — and, with the other, offered a little wave. He beamed that broad, warm smile, the one that makes him look a little like a happy shark. It lingered even as he turned away, before he got serious again.
Liverpool’s day was a little like that, somewhere between a scowl and a smile.
A draw with Manchester United meant a return to the top of the Premier League table, ahead of Manchester City by a single point, with 11 games left to play.
It meant Klopp’s players have now faced the most daunting fixture of their run-in: against England’s most in-form team — United remains unbeaten domestically since Ole Gunnar Solskjaer replaced José Mourinho — and a club fizzing with motivation to see Liverpool fail. That point represented an obstacle cleared.
There was no great sense of relief, though, no untamed glee among the traveling fans. The point also represented an opportunity lost, against a United team frayed by injury. Anthony Martial sat in the stands, not fit enough to be involved; Nemanja Matic was ruled out after picking up an injury in training.
By halftime, Solskjaer had been forced to use all three of his substitutes, too, with Ander Herrera, Juan Mata and Jesse Lingard — a substitute himself — all limping off. Marcus Rashford, clearly in discomfort for much of the game, was forced to swallow a couple of painkillers and carry on.
United’s midfield, for more than an hour,…
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