Final, 1-1: It’s over at Old Trafford, with the teams knotted at one goal apiece.
Liverpool was agonizingly close to leaving Old Trafford with all three points, but Ibrahimovic’s late goal canceled out Milner’s penalty kick and drew the teams onto level terms.
The Reds move into third place in the standings, trailing Tottenham on goal difference and league-leader Chelsea by seven points. Manchester United remains in sixth place.
Manchester United and Liverpool won’t meet again in the Premier League this season, but they could face off in the FA Cup or EFL Cup final.
That’s all for now, and thanks for joining us. Let’s discuss this one on Twitter @NESNsoccer and Facebook. Be sure to keep an eye out for some news, fan reactions, analysis and opinion coming up on NESN.com/soccer.
Postgame analysis >>
90th minute +3, 1-1: A promising late attack from Liverpool ends with Wijnaldum hitting a weak shot straight at de Gea.
90th minute +1, 1-1: The referee shows Herrera a yellow card for holding Firmino by the jersey.
Firmino also receives a yellow card for his forceful reaction.
90th minute, 1-1: There will be four minutes of added time in the second half.
84th minute, 1-1: Ibrahimovic levels the score.
Rooney started the sequence with a lofted pass inside Liverpool’s penalty area. Fellaini flicked Rooney’s delivery off the crossbar. Valencia collected the rebound and crossed to Ibrahimovic, who glanced his header off the crossbar and into the goal.
81st minute, 1-0 Liverpool: Mignolet kick-saves Rooney’s effort on goal. The referee’s assistant judges Rooney to have been offside, but it was close.
Manchester United is increasing the pressure as it searches for the tying goal.
76th minute, 1-0 Liverpool: Manchester United makes its final substitution. Matteo Darmian exits. Marouane Fellaini enters.
Mourinho also will move Mkhtaryan into an unfamiliar position.
75th minute, 1-0 Liverpool: Wijnaldum heads a shot over the goal, as Liverpool threatens to double its lead via counter-attack.
71st minute, 1-0 Liverpool: Milner is down and seemingly in pain, having taken a stamp from Rooney.
66th minute, 1-0 Liverpool: Lallana hits a low shot to the near post, but de Gea saves it easily.
65th minute, 1-0 Liverpool: Juan Mata replaces Martial, as Manchester United makes another personnel change.
65th minute, 1-0 Liverpool: Rooney drags a tame shot wide.
61st minute, 1-0 Liverpool: The referee has shown Georginio Wijnaldum a yellow card for delaying a free kick.
61st minute, 1-0 Liverpool: Coutinho sets up Firmino with a delightful reverse pass, Firmino takes a touch and shoots on goal, but David de Gea saves it at the near post.
61st minute, 1-0 Liverpool: Coutinho replaces Origi in Liverpool’s first substitution.
55th minute, 1-0 Liverpool: Ibrahimovic misses Mkhtaryan’s cross by inches, as does Martial.
Manchester United’s best chance has gone begging, and Usain Bolt isn’t happy about it.
48th minute, 1-0 Liverpool: Jones deflects Origi’s shot out of bounds, as Liverpool threatens early in the second half.
46th minute, 1-0 Liverpool: The second half is under way.
Manchester United made a halftime substitution, replacing Michael Carrick with Wayne Rooney.
Rooney will pass Sir Bobby Charlton as Manchester United’s all-time leading scorer with his next goal. He has scored 249 times for the Red Devils.
Halftime, 1-0 Liverpool: That’s the end of the first half.
Liverpool leads thanks to its composure in what is always an emotionally charged game. Manchester United had more quality scoring chances, but its inability to finish them and Mignolet’s saves have kept the host off the board.
Pogba made a grave mistake in giving away the penalty kick, and his hand-ball came just seven minutes after he missed a promising chance. Liverpool otherwise didn’t cause Manchester United’s defense many problems, but putting Milner on the penalty spot only can end one way.
The game is tight. Look for it to open (slightly or more) in the second half.
45th minute, 1-0 Liverpool: There will be one minute of added time in the first half.
41st minute, 1-0 Liverpool: Ander Herrera finds Mkhitaryan with a through-ball. Mkhitaryan shoots from a tight angle, but Mignolet makes another fine save.
39th minute, 1-0 Liverpol: There’s some chaos around Manchester United’s penalty area, as Liverpool catches the hosts on the break. Divock Origi was unable to find enough space for a shot. Jones then blocked Adam Lallana’s shot.
33rd minute, 1-0 Liverpool: Simon Mignolet saves Ibrahimovic’s powerful low free kick.
31st minute, 1-0 Liverpool: The referee has shown Lovren a yellow card for either his tackle on Martial or his protests against the foul call.
27th minute, 1-0 Liverpool: James Milner converts from the penalty spot, and Liverpool has the lead.
Milner has been the Premier League’s master of the spot this season.
27th minute, 0-0: The referee has awarded Liverpool a penalty kick. Paul Pogba’s arm hit the ball inside Manchester United’s penalty area.
26th minute, 0-0: Roberto Firmino dispossesses Phil Jones in a dangerous area, but Marcos Rojo prevents him from shooting on goal.
19th minute, 0-0: Henrik Mkhitaryan slides a through-ball to Paul Pogba, who shoots narrowly wide.
Manchester United is looking more dangerous, as the game reaches the 20-minute mark. Liverpool can consider itself lucky to have escaped this patch of the game unscathed.
18th minute, 0-0: Ibrahimovic nearly capitalizes on Lovren’s sloppy back pass, but the deflection lands on top of Liverpool’s goal.
13th minute, 0-0: Zlatan Ibrahimovic reaches Martial’s cross at the back post but can’t direct it on target in the game’s first half-chance.
12th minute, 0-0: Here’s an early flash-point, as Anthony Martial goes down inside Liverpool’s penalty area as he attempts to dribble past Dejan Lovren. The home fans want a penalty kick. The referee ignores their pleas.
10th minute, 0-0: The fans are in good voice, but the teams haven’t yet responded with quality play.
The game has been bogged down in midfield so far, with both sides misplacing passes and ending promising opportunities before they have a chance to blossom.
Fifth minute, 0-0: The teams have traded some quick counter-attacks early on but failed to create any meaningful goal-scoring chances.
Kickoff: The 50th edition of the biggest Premier League’s biggest game is under way.
Pregame: Plenty of lineup news is coming from the Liverpool camp.
Trent Alexander-Arnold looks set to start at right back in place of Nathaniel Clyne, who suffered a rib injury Wednesday during the EFL Cup loss to Southampton. Clyne played every minute of Liverpool’s first 20 Premier League games this season.
“He (Clyne) can cope with many things and we hoped for the best but then he had this little issue at training yesterday and we had to wait,” Klopp said before the game, per LiverpoolFC.com. ““It was one of the final moments of the session. We spoke this morning and he thought there was no chance. So we made this change.”
Klopp now turns to Alexander-Arnold, 18, who has played just one minute in the Premier League in his career. He has made four appearances for Liverpool’s first team, with two coming in the EFL Cup, one in the FA Cup and short Premier League debut.
Furthermore, Joel Matip withdrew from Liverpool’s squad due to confusion over his eligibilty. Liverpool issued a statement on Matip shortly before announcing its starting lineup.
“Matip, who was not included in Cameroon’s final squad for the Africa Cup of Nations tournament, has previously communicated his withdrawal from consideration for international selection, with his last appearance for Cameroon occurring in September 2015.
“The Cameroon Football Federation have failed to confirm that Matip can therefore play club football during the period of the Africa Cup of Nations. Liverpool have subsequently repeatedly sought, as a matter of urgency, clarity from FIFA in this regard. This includes assurances the player was called up for the tournament in accordance with the world governing body’s regulations.
“It is Liverpool’s view that the player should be available for club football during the period of the competition and will continue to work for a speedy and unambiguous resolution.”
Get it together, FIFA.
In more conventional lineup news, Jordan Henderson returns from injury to captain Liverpool and play center midfield. He has missed the last three games due to a heel injury.
Philippe Coutinho’s comeback from an ankle injury continues, as he starts on Liverpool’s bench. He had been out since Nov. 26 but played 29 minutes Wednesday against Southampton.
10:30 a.m.: Here are the starting lineups:
Manchester United
Liverpool
10 a.m. ET: English soccer will command center stage in the sports world Sunday, with the biggest teams in the country set to clash.
Manchester United hosts Liverpool at Old Trafford in a meeting between the two winningest clubs in the history of English soccer. Liverpool currently sits fourth in the Premier League standings but could rise to second with a win. Manchester United occupies sixth place but could move to within two points of Liverpool with a victory.
The managers could dominate the spotlight, with Manchester United’s Jose Mourinho matching wits with Liverpool’s Jurgen Klopp for just the seventh time.
The teams played to a goal-less draw in their last meeting. The stalemate at Anfield was no spectacle, and neutrals are hoping for more fireworks this time around.
Manchester United has won its last nine games in all competitions — its best run since January-February 2009 — and six consecutive in the Premier League.
Liverpool has lost 11 of its last 14 Premier League games at Old Trafford.
But this is a derby game, on which form and history often have no bearing during the 90 minutes of play.
Manchester United vs. Liverpool will kick off at 11 a.m. Join us right here for all the action from Old Trafford.
Thumbnail photo via LiverpoolFC.com
