Andreas Pereira was given a start in his favoured position for Manchester United against Liverpool and there was a clear difference.
Pereira was one of United’s better players in the 1-1 draw at Old Trafford and looked ‘up for it’ right from kick off.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer had selected Pereira in a central attacking midfield role, rather than shunting him out to the right as he had done over the past few weeks.
Pereira offered a dangerous attacking outlet, with both his movement and passing.
Off the ball he relished the physical side of the rivalry, leaving his foot in and helping United set the tone early on.
Pereira had 57 touches, the highest of any United midfielder, and he created three goalscoring opportunities, again the most any Red Devils player managed.
His defensive contribution showed up with two tackles won and three interceptions.
Pereira is a player who has been written off due to his mediocre contribution on the right wing. This was better.
He still needs to kick on from here and improve, but he showed he deserves a run in the same position. Let’s not write him off just yet.
Reaction
The response to Pereira’s efforts was encouraging, with supporters praising his display…
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