Antony ‘Cooks’ Trent Alexander Arnold in Liverpool vs Manchester United Stalemate

• Liverpool played out to a barren draw against Manchester United on December 17
• It was a better performance from the 7-0 mauling in the same fixture last season
• Antony produced skills to pass Trent Alexander-Arnold but couldn't make it count

Liverpool were forced to surrender their lead at the top of the Premier League table after dropping points at home to Manchester United on December 17.

The buildup to the game had been centred around Man United's last visit to Anfield, where they recorded their worst-ever EPL defeat - the 7-0 thrashing in March.

With United in crisis this season and Liverpool back in their groove, few expected the former to get a result in Merseyside. Erik ten Hag's charges, however, ground out an impressive goalless result.

On top of that, the travelling fans were treated to some skill from Antony. The Brazilian was just recently under fire for a 'useless' skill in the Champions League clash against Bayern Munich, as reported by Sports Brief.

Rice caps Arsenal fightback in seven-goal thriller at Luton

Football

Antony's skill on Alexander-Arnold

Against Liverpool, he came face-to-face with Trent Alexander-Arnold in the Reds' penalty area.

With a drop in shoulder and a quick dummy, the former Ajax winger eased past the English full-back, much to the delight of fans on X (formerly Twitter).

@NJH commented:

"Didn't know Antony could even dribble to that area of the pitch."

@Gbolahan remarked:

"We all know Antony is a skilful player right from Ajax; it's just a lack of confidence at the moment."

Last time out, Mohamed Salah produced a golden moment against Lisandro Martinez to set up Cody Gakpo.

Unluckily for Antony, his end product was hastily cleared out as Man United's wait for a first goal at Anfield since 2018 continued.

Despite the one lapse in judgement, Alexander-Arnold was outstanding for Jurgen Klopp. The 25-year-old started as a full-back before drifting into midfield in the second half.

Liverpool star suffers wardrobe malfunction as his backside is exposed while taking corner

Football

He made a timely interception to deny Alejandro Garnacho a shooting opportunity before watching his shot from outside the area whistle agonisingly beyond the goalpost with Andre Onana beaten.

Diogo Dalot's two yellow cards

The real bone of contention of the match came in stoppage time when centre referee, Michael Oliver showed Diogo Dalot two yellow cards in the space of 10 seconds.

The Portuguese fullback tussled with Salah near the corner flag and thought he had won his side a throw-in. However, he was frustrated as it was awarded the other way.

Oliver promptly booked a visible case of dissent before dishing another yellow card in quick succession. Sports Brief understands both yellow cards were for dissent.