After years of false dawns and instability, could Manchester United’s win over Liverpool in Anfield be the spark that reignites the Red Devils’ chase for glory?
Let’s be honest — we’ve been here before. A big result, a glimpse of swagger, the Red Devils fanbase humming “this is the turning point” like it’s a Spotify playlist on repeat. But this one felt different. This was at Anfield — a ground where recent Manchester United teams have gone to cosplay as lower-league opposition. And yet, somehow, they didn’t just survive; they showed up and took advantage of a shaky Liverpool defense to secure a 2-1 win. Best of all, it gave fans another reason to never doubt one of England’s most successful clubs.
Maybe it’s not a full-blown renaissance (yet). Maybe it’s just a chaotic fling with competence that lasts until the festive fixtures. But whatever it is, it was loud enough to make naysayers look over their shoulder and go: “Wait… are they serious this time?”
The last time United won at Anfield was on January 17, 2016, when Wayne Rooney slotted it home and captured the match’s lone goal for a 1-0 win. For context, Louis van Gaal was at the helm, and since then, the club has welcomed and parted ways with seven different managers. In the nearly 12 years since United last won the Premier League under Sir Alex Ferguson, the organization has experienced somewhat of an identity crisis.
Money has been invested to build around a player who either succumbs to injury or leaves the team the following year, or a new leader arrives promising to undo the damage by his predecessor, only to depart with little to no results. Speak to any loyalist for longer than a few minutes, and the outlook is mostly apathetic, with minimal praise for a few standout players. You can’t blame. Despite it being a dream club to play for, poor decisions from the front office have made it a far less desirable destination for players seeking stability and trophies.
Sure, United has the legacy — if you’re into living in the past — but these days, joining them feels more like signing up for chaos than chasing glory. And yet, somehow, there’s always that eternal hope they’ll stop tripping over themselves and finally get back to being the juggernaut everyone used to dread.
Subscribe for the biggest stories in the business of sports and entertainment, daily.
One Win Doesn’t Fix Everything, But It’s a Start
Ahead of this season, Boardroom explored the key factors that could lead to a United rebirth, one of them being a lack of European competition to allow them to focus on the domestic task at hand. Even that, we would soon learn, was perhaps too tall an order. Ten days into the new season, United embarrassingly crashed out of the Carabao Cup to League Two side Grimsby Town in a penalty shootout, already leaving much to be desired for Ruben Amorim’s first full year in charge, and cries for the Portuguese to be shown the door.
Despite flashes of brilliance in subsequent matches, including a 2-1 win at home against Chelsea, Man United still didn’t look convincing. Then, right before the October international break, hope struck. Sure, it was against newly promoted Sunderland, but it was a meaningful home win thanks to goals scored by two desperately needing to prove their investment: Mason Mount and Benjamin Šeško, the latter only two months into a five-year tenure at Old Trafford.
Back in August, Boardroom also dove into the millions spent by the club to bolster its attack, headlined by Bryan Mbeumo from Brentford. The Cameroon international finally plays for the team he supported as a child for a reported fee of £70 million ($94.7 million), and was quick to fill the void left after the permanent or loan exits of Alejandro Garnacho, Rasmus Højlund, and Marcus Rashford. In nine matches, he’s found the back of the net three times and has one assist.
Mbeumo has brought a dynamic new dimension to United’s offensive line, offering a blend of pace, physicality, and technical precision severely lacking since, well, they last won at Anfield nine years ago. His partnership with Matheus Cunha, another summer signing, made an immediate impact, notably unsettling Arsenal in the season opener, and he emerged as the primary attacking threat in the high-intensity victory over Burnley — form that rightly earned him the club’s Player of the Month award for August.
Even in the challenging derby defeat to Manchester City, Mbeumo stood out as United’s most proactive attacking presence, nearly scoring with a fiercely struck volley that drew a world-class save from Gianluigi Donnarumma. It’s been fascinating to watch him slot so easily within United’s system, but perhaps that’s easy to do when the approach seems to change every few weeks. Nothing could have prepared fans on both sides for the cleverness Mbeumo would show on Sunday. Just 62 seconds into the match, Bruno Fernandes found Amad Diallo down the right flank, and the Ivorian delivered a perfectly weighted pass for Mbeumo — who had quickly regained his footing — to stride onto and calmly slot past Giorgi Mamardashvili.
Liverpool had plenty of chances to equalize long before Cody Gakpo eventually did so in the 78th minute, but were foiled thanks to an equal show of relentlessness from keeper Senne Lammens and the unforgiving goalpost. It was a match pointing to all things in United’s favor thus far; however, it still felt like an uphill battle to steal all three points.
But then came Slab-head.
Harry Maguire, ex-United captain, England international, and arguably one of the club’s heartbeats, lined up in the box on a pivotal corner kick. Such actions are only done when the team is desperate for a winner and in need of a 6’4″ powerhouse with impressive aerial flair. In the 84th minute, Fernandes, playing a left-wing corner for the visitors, volleyed it toward the defender’s direction after a volley from Mbeumo to elicit screams of amazement from the away visitors. After a successful chance to win it at Anfield last year, it was finally sweet vindication for a well-deserved player.
It’s still too soon to talk about a top-four return with any certainty — United fans have been burned by false dawns before. But for the first time under Amorim, there’s a bona fide spark. Back-to-back wins have injected belief into a side that finally looks like it’s waking up to its own potential. There’s cohesion, confidence, and hints of a team ready to chase greatness rather than merely survive under self-inflicted instabilities. Now, with momentum building, they return to the Theatre of Dreams to face Brighton & Hove Albion — and for once, it feels like United are ready to put on a show.
Read More:
Flavio Briatore on Alpine’s Hollywood Ties, U.S. Ambitions, and the Road to 2026
Union Berlin: A Counterpoint to Football’s Superclubs
Don’t Settle: Taylor Rooks Discusses Pressure and Purpose with Victor Cruz, Justin Tuck, and Kristyn Cook
Interview: How the Designer Behind the Jogger Is Redefining Golf Style
How Amanda Anisimova Turned Wimbledon Heartbreak Into Her Best Season Yet
