mainoo seals it | manchester united edge liverpool 3-2 in thriller
MATCH INFO
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Manchester United 3-2 Liverpool
Date: May 3, 2026
Competition: Premier League
Venue: Old Trafford, Manchester
manchester united beat liverpool 3-2 in a dramatic five-goal thriller at old trafford. united gave up a two-goal lead but a late strike from kobbie mainoo secured the win, guaranteeing michael carrick's side a spot in the champions league next season after a two-year absence.
Goals
minute 6 matheus cunha strike. 1-0 united. lightning start from the hosts. cunha's shot takes a deflection off alexis mac allister and finds the back of the net.
minute 14 benjamin sesko finish. 2-0 united. bruno fernandes heads the ball across the goal, woodman gets a hand to it but it bounces in off sesko.
minute 47 dominik szoboszlai finish. 2-1 liverpool. amad diallo gives the ball away on the halfway line. szoboszlai carries it from deep and fires past lammens.
minute 56 cody gakpo strike. 2-2 liverpool. disastrous error from senne lammens, who passes it straight to mac allister. he tees up szoboszlai, who quickly finds gakpo for a first-time finish into an open net.
minute 77 kobbie mainoo strike. 3-2 united. a weak clearance from mac allister falls to mainoo on the edge of the box, and he confidently places a first-time effort into the bottom-left corner to win it.
How It Went
an absolute rollercoaster of a north west derby. united came out flying and were 2-0 up inside 14 minutes, looking like they would cruise to victory. fernandes even missed a big chance to make it 3-0 before halftime. everything changed after the break, though, as united lost control and gifted liverpool two quick goals through sloppy mistakes from diallo and lammens. just as the momentum completely shifted to liverpool, mainoo stepped up with a brilliant winner to send old trafford into absolute raptures.
Quick Take
kobbie mainoo is the real deal. just signed a five-year contract and celebrates by scoring the winner in a derby to secure champions league football. man of the match.
senne lammens had a nightmare moment for liverpool's second goal but recovered well to prevent a luke shaw own goal later on.
massive achievement for michael carrick to get united back into europe's elite competition.
liverpool still have work to do. they are level on points with aston villa in the race for a top-five finish.
a classic premier league encounter. terrible defending at times but incredible entertainment.