Maguire’s Late Header Sinks Liverpool as United End Anfield Drought

Liverpool’s troubles deepened on Sunday as they fell to a fourth straight defeat for the first time in over a decade, losing 2–1 to Manchester United at Anfield.

The result handed United their first victory at the venue in nearly nine years and marked a major statement win for Ruben Amorim, who celebrated consecutive Premier League triumphs for the first time since taking charge.

Harry Maguire headed home the winner in the 84th minute, capping a dramatic finish after Cody Gakpo had levelled the score 12 minutes earlier, cancelling out Bryan Mbeumo’s lightning opener inside the first minute.

The loss leaves Arne Slot’s Liverpool trailing Arsenal by four points at the top of the table and searching for solutions despite spending close to £450 million ($604 million) on new signings. United, meanwhile, climb to ninth place, cutting the gap on their long-time rivals to just two points and easing pressure on Amorim with what may be his most important win of the season.

Liverpool had dominated recent meetings between the sides losing only once in their previous 14 league encounters and United had not claimed victory at Anfield since January 2016, during the early months of Jürgen Klopp’s reign. But the reigning champions looked unsettled, still adjusting to major squad changes and reeling from the tragic death of Diogo Jota in a car accident in July.

Things went wrong almost immediately. After just 61 seconds, Mbeumo raced past Virgil van Dijk and finished calmly from Amad Diallo’s assist. Liverpool players protested that play should have been halted moments earlier after Alexis Mac Allister suffered a head knock following an accidental collision with his captain.

Slot again opted to keep £100 million signing Florian Wirtz on the bench, searching unsuccessfully for balance between attack and defence. Gakpo came closest to restoring parity in the first half when he struck the post from Mohamed Salah’s through ball Liverpool’s only real flowing move before the break.

United, however, could have been further ahead. Bruno Fernandes hit the outside of the post when unmarked near the box, while at the other end, goalkeeper Senne Lammens had little to do but produced a crucial save to deny Alexander Isak his first Premier League goal since his record £125 million move to Liverpool.

Maguire’s late header sealed a memorable win for United and left the Anfield crowd stunned a symbolic blow to Slot’s early tenure as he continues to search for answers to Liverpool’s alarming slump in form.