BBC pundit praises ‘very good’ Manchester United partnership after draw v Liverpool

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BBC pundit Alan Shearer has questioned why Raphael Varane has not been starting more for Manchester United this season.

It was an unorthodox defensive pairing selected by Erik ten Hag for the game at Anfield with Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool seemingly back in a title race following their Europa League finish last season.

With the absence of Harry Maguire from the team, due to a groin injury, Ten Hag had little choice but to start the rather surprise pairing but it worked a treat as Liverpool struggled to break down the defensive unit.

The Dutchman’s rather bold selection decision was justified as the United team held on, even when they went down to ten men in the last knockings of the game, they held on.

Shearer on the defensive pairing

Speaking on Match of the Day 2, former Newcastle United striker Alan Shearer was critical of the game as a spectacle but was full of praise for the back four who dealt with wave after wave of attacks comfortably.

“Liverpool resorted to pumping the ball into the box because they were getting frustrated and that suited United”, Shearer said.

“The partnership and the understanding of each other that Varane and Evans have was crucial. The positioning of both of them I thought was really good.

“They didn’t play well but this is one thing they did really well, the defensive side of the game. The experience that they have was there to see but Varane hasn’t been playing in there, it’s been (Luke) Shaw for some reason but I thought that pairing were very good.”

Varane question

The reasoning behind Raphael Varane’s initial absence for the 3-0 defeat to Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City was “tactical“, since then he has been in and out of the team.

However, the Frenchman was thrust into the starting 11 against Bayern Munich in midweek but came out of that game with praise as for the large majority of the clash, the United defence handled the German champions well.

At Anfield, again the defender was trusted and he succeeded massively in the game at Anfield and you wonder, with performances like that, whether the Frenchman has won his place back in the team and won back Ten Hag’s trust.