He was ruled out after picking up an injury in training on Friday.Rashford had not started in 2018 and had only made five substitute appearances but he was to be the central figure in this encounter, which had all the adrenalin, aggression and endeavour associated with one of English football’s mostly hotly contested rivalries.For all the pre-match discussion of tactics, it was a blood and thunder clash. A move of old-school simplicity gave United the breakthrough.A long ball from goalkeeper David De Gea was headed on by target-man Romelu Lukaku into the path of Rashford. He then outdid Trent Alexander-Arnold, cut inside on to his right foot and confidently buried the ball in the far corner to open the scoring in the 14th minute.Lukaku was bullying his marker Dejan Lovren, winning headers and brushing off challenges from the Croatian. It was from another battle between the pair, won by the United striker, that allowed Jose Mourinho’s side to double their advantage.The Belgian’s ball towards Juan Mata was blocked and fell to Rashford inside the box. But for all Liverpool’s intense pressure, they were unable to find a way through a disciplined United defence.

Source: Egypt Today March 10, 2018 14:48 UTC