Arne Slot is fuming, Mikel Arteta’s big risk pays off and Josh Dasilva enjoys an emotional return for Brentford
Arne Slot was seething as he lamented the decision to allow Manchester United’s second goal to stand despite claims of handball by Benjamin Sesko. “The curve on the ball changed so there must have been a contact,” argued the Liverpool head coach. “But it’s no surprise to anyone that if there is a VAR intervention then the decision goes against us. It’s happened to us all season.” As PGMO confirmed at the time, however, there “was no conclusive evidence that Sesko handled the ball before scoring”. Slot was stretching it to pin Liverpool’s latest defeat on poor refereeing. United’s movement pulled the visitors apart in the first half and, without the injured Mohamed Salah, Hugo Ekitiké and Alexander Isak, the threat from Liverpool was nonexistent until capitalising on two errors early in the second half. Defeat stemmed from an anaemic first-half performance, nothing else. Andy Hunter
Match report: Manchester United 3-2 Liverpool
What took you so long, Mikel Arteta? “Because probably I don’t have a clue,” the Arsenal manager joked. The home game against Fulham on Saturday was the first time he had started Myles Lewis-Skelly in midfield. Given the stakes, it was a big risk. Never mind the 19-year-old played in midfield for Arsenal’s academy teams; this felt like a sink or swim moment. Lewis-Skelly, who broke through in such dazzling style as a left-back last season but has dropped off this time out, rose to the challenge, delivering a fine all-round performance defined by the security of his passing and the energy that he brought. He helped to set a blistering tempo and maintain it. There has been no little muttering about how Arsenal might look to sell him in the summer, the words “pure” and “profit” bandied about. On this evidence, they cannot do so. David Hytner
