Kobbie Mainoo scored a dramatic winner for Manchester United as they beat Liverpool 3-2 in an epic Premier League encounter at Old Trafford.
Matheus Cunha's left-footed shot deflected off the back of Alexis Mac Allister and beyond Freddie Woodman to give United an early lead and when Benjamin Sesko forced home after Bruno Fernandes' centre was pushed his way by Woodman, it was two.
But United squandered the advantage in the second half. Amad Diallo, just on as a substitute, gifted the ball to Dominik Szoboszlai who scored a fine solo goal before Senne Lammens' poor kick was seized upon with Cody Gakpo levelling the game up.
It was anybody's game at that point but when the ball fell to Mainoo on the edge of the box he fired hard and low beyond Woodman to win it for United. The youngster, who had been frozen out of the team by Ruben Amorim, stealing the show under Michael Carrick.
The victory confirms that United will play in the Champions League next season as they tighten their grip on third spot in the table. Liverpool remain fourth with work to do - and with work for Arne Slot to do to persuade fans he is the man to lead them next season.
Slow-motion replays later indicated that Sesko had got a feather-like touch on the ball with his hand, which will leave Liverpool aggrieved. The initial replays shown during the VAR process did not appear to have this close-up view and the goal was allowed to stand.
Liverpool head coach Arne Slot was asked in the press conference if Sesko's goal should have been disallowed:
"If it was a touch, which I think it is, because if you know a bit about a ball sport, you know that if a ball has a certain curve and the curve changes, there must have been a contact. But it's always like that.
"We should have a debate in football. Is that enough to disallow a goal? But I think the rule is if there was a touch, it should have been disallowed.
"But I don't think it's a surprise to anyone this season that if there is a VAR intervention or if there is something that you could look at or could be left or could be right, then that decision goes against us.
"That has been the whole season, every single time the same. I remember Paris Saint-Germain at home, getting a penalty for a soft touch on Mac Allister. But, of course, the VAR intervenes and says, no, no, no, this is not a penalty.
"One week later, when I see Paris Saint-Germain playing against Bayern Munich, that same soft touch, the penalty stays. I saw last week my goalkeeper on the floor with an injury and the referee doesn't stop the game. I see a player of United off the pitch today and the referee stops the game when we try to play on.
"That has been our whole season.
"But the second goal we did not concede because of the handball. We conceded it because we lost the ball in a stupid position and we lost a few big moments afterwards in duels.
"So we have to first look at ourselves. That would be completely clear and obvious. But that decisions have gone every single game against us, that's also completely clear and obvious.
"Because when we played United in the first game of the season, I had one of my players with five stitches on the floor and the referee didn't stop the game and we conceded. This is a complete pattern over the whole season.
"But there's also a pattern that we concede ridiculous goals when we are the better team. One or two switching off and then we concede a goal.
"And that we have more influence on, so I should focus much more on that than on these referee decisions that go against us. But it's clear that the whole season is the same."
Man Utd match-winner Kobbie Mainoo speaking to Your Site:
"To turn it around the way we have done, it's a credit to the players and the manager. We are just looking forward and still need to finish the season strong.
"We want to just keep on winning and winning … The confidence in not just me but all the players. You want to follow him and fight for him. That's what we showed today."
Man Utd boss Michael Carrick when asked about the news that :
"Well, I haven't got any update so I don't know the latest as we stand now. I did hear about it before the game so I was aware of it before the game.
"All I can say is I wish him the best. I'm very affected by it, the news, and I just hope he's alright. I just don't know the latest but we hope for him to be in good shape and we wish him all the best.
"We certainly think that hopefully the result, when he hears about it, can give him a boost."
For the majority of the supporters at Old Trafford, it was a game to savour. Former skipper Roy Keane had told Your Site beforehand that the result would "have a big bearing on whether Michael Carrick will get the job" - maybe this was his anointment.
News of Sir Alex Ferguson falling ill and being taken to hospital before kick-off added poignancy to the occasion. That Carrick has this United playing with the pace and purpose of old is a fitting tribute to his old boss and offers hope for the team's future.
For Slot, the talk of being in transition remains true and Liverpool were without a trio of forwards who he will feel could have made a difference. But the fear among fans is not the transition itself - it is what the Dutchman is transitioning this Liverpool into.
They want to see a side that presses and it was this that sparked their brief comeback. Fans would embrace a Liverpool that tweaked the model established by Jurgen Klopp. A sterile possession game looks a divergence too far. The questions for him will continue.
Your Site' Lewis Jones:
Liverpool's away-day malaise is becoming less of a blip and more of a pattern that Slot cannot ignore. There's a passivity to their first-half approach on the road that feels at odds with the club's identity that was so exciting under Klopp. A team built on intensity, front-foot football and early statement-making is now drifting through opening periods as if waiting for the game to come to them.
Another blank before the break against Manchester United only sharpened the concern. That is now just four goals in their last 19 first halves. A staggering drop-off for a side packed with attacking quality and expectation. It is not just misfiring finishing, it is a collective lack of urgency. The tempo is slow, the pressing disjointed and too often Liverpool are reactive rather than proactive.
For a club that should be chasing major honours, it is an embarrassing quirk to what has been a wretched season.
