Perhaps there shouldn't have been too much surprise that the Red Devils walked away from Anfield with their first win in just under a decade, given that they had been unbeaten in this fixture in the the last five matches in all competitions. They hadn't won the league fixture since August 2022, however.
Odds were against a Man Utd win
Having beaten Sunderland in their previous English top-flight game before the international break, the game against the Reds gave Ruben Amorim and his squad the chance to finally win back-to-back games in the league, though they had been outscored by Liverpool in recent matches, conceding 14 goals in their matches and scoring just four.
When the teams were announced, the groans were audible in the away end as it became clear that Amorim had dropped Leny Yoro in place of United warhorse Harry Maguire.
Matheus Cunha for Benjamin Sesko was the visitors only other change, whilst Liverpool were unchanged from the team that had lost to Chelsea last time out.
Giorgi Mamardashvili became the first Liverpool player to make his Anfield debut in a Premier League game against Man Utd since Thiago Alcantara in January 2021.
United's Bruno Fernandes was also starting his 100th Premier League away match at Anfield, a ground he'd yet to win at in the English top-flight (P4 W0 D2 L2).
Calamity for Liverpool, joy for United
A calamitous start for the hosts saw them behind on 62 seconds as Bryan Mbeumo nipped in to score in front of, and stun, the Kop with the earliest goal in this fixture since October 1995 and the fastest in the 2025/26 Premier League season.
The hosts hadn't won any of their last four matches when conceding first, and their third goal conceded in the opening 15 minutes of a game this season was more than any other club in the division - certainly a concern for Arne Slot.
The shock of going behind was bound to elicit a response, and though Liverpool eased through the gears, they remained vulnerable to the counter-attack.
That much was evident when Fernandes hit the woodwork just three minutes after Cody Gakpo had done the same at the end of a sweeping Liverpool move.
Though Liverpool had over 65% possession in the first half hour of the game, it was United that had been the more dangerous with three shots on target - the first time since April 2024 against Crystal Palace that this had happened in the opening 30 minutes.
Red Devils the more likely
Indeed, the front three of Cunha, Mbeumo and Mason Mount looked the more likely to score than Gakpo, Alexander Isak and Mo Salah.
Liverpool's 19 crosses by half-time indicated their attacking intent; however, United still managed to go in at the break ahead, the first time the Red Devils had been up at half-time in the fixture since 2014/15 under Louis van Gaal.
Interestingly, United had never lost at Anfield in the Premier League era when they'd been leading after the opening 45 minutes (W6, D2).
They were also unbeaten in their last 10 EPL games (W9, D1 - against all opponents) when in front at HT, giving the visitors something to hang on to.
Gakpo's third shot against the woodwork shortly after the start of the second half suggested that Lady Luck might be on United's side.
That notion was only strengthened with the knowledge that Salah hadn't managed to make the most of his five chances created in the match, more than the whole United team combined.
Late pressure pays off for Liverpool
A flurry of substitutions from both sides just after the hour mark seemed to re-energise the hosts, and though Liverpool still hadn't scored with 15 to play, six of their players had got away 2+ shots each, suggesting that United's backline could soon be breached if they kept giving up so much of the ball.
After three more shots had gone begging as Liverpool continued to swarm forward, the pressure finally told and Gakpo got a well-deserved equaliser with 13 minutes left, his fourth in six appearances against United.
The goal also made him the only Liverpool player in the competition's history to score in his first three starts against the Red Devils.
Warhorse Maguire seals it for United
Far from seeing United cower and Liverpool take advantage of their attacking onslaught, the visitors kept plugging away, and after two further shots at goal, failure to clear a corner saw Harry Maguire stoop to conquer and head his side back into the lead.
The goal capped a wonderful all-round performance from the England international who had been in amongst it for most of the game, taking part in 10 one-on-one duels and nine more aerially, as well as winning back possession on four occasions and having the most touches in Liverpool's box (three) along with Mbeumo and Cunha.
A fifth goal conceded in the final 15 minutes of the game won't have pleased Slot, not to mention that it was also the eighth time in the last 12 Premier League matches that Liverpool had conceded 2+ goals - more than any other team.
Salah poor, Senne sensational
Salah was subbed off soon after, the Egyptian King having gone seven consecutive Premier League matches without scoring a non-penalty goal for the very first time in his Liverpool career.
Try as they might, and Liverpool certainly did try with 78.9% possession in the final 15 minutes of the match, they were unable to find the goal to give them at least a point.
A fourth defeat in a row in all competitions for the first time since November 2014 was therefore a reality, with the Reds also losing three Premier League games in a row for the first time since February 2021.
Senne Lammens ended the game having saved five of the six shots he faced and having had the most touches of any United player - 55, jointly with Cunha - denoting what a big part he'd had to play in proceedings, and surely cementing his place in the starting lineup for some time to come.
Of little consolation to Liverpool will be the knowledge that they'd scored in their last 42 games in the Premier League, which is their longest run of games with a goal in the competition.
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