'Fine details decide big football matches'

"Fine details decide big football matches," rued the Reds manager after a game we could so easily have won, instead ended in agonising defeat due to a Joao Pedro goal deep into stoppage time.

Last week, in our opening game of 2024/25, new boy Joshua Zirkzee was the hero, coming off the bench to sink Fulham with a clever, instinctive finish.

Fast forward eight days and the big Dutchman's slide, in vain, to try to reach Bruno Fernandes's square pass left him unable to avoid helping Alejandro Garnacho's goalbound finish over the line.

To be honest, the instant fear was Zirkzee's intervention would mean the goal being disallowed, even though the on-field decision was to award United our second goal of the afternoon.

So there was no surprise when VAR confirmed the ball had not crossed the line before striking Zirkzee, with the fact he was not behind it when Garnacho shot meaning the celebrations were misplaced.

Yet we are talking about a matter of inches here. It was a highly unusual way for an effort to be disallowed and, on another day, it could well have been that Zirkzee was onside and he would have been credited with a second winner in two Premier League outings as substitute.

Such are the fine margins that are always talked up and our new no.11 was undoubtedly extremely unlucky on this occasion.

Ten Hag, seen in discussion with his fellow countryman after the final whistle, could not blame Zirkzee for the incident.

"I think it was difficult," he conceded afterwards. "In the moment, [when] he was on the slide, to avoid it. If he had read the situation before or maybe counted on the ball from Bruno, or read the situation better, it was maybe avoidable. But you can do nothing about it. Once you're on the slide, you can't avoid the ball.

"I asked him [about it] and it's tough. The rule is clear."

There is an overriding feeling that, despite the loss, this was a difficult away assignment that we arguably should have won. Certainly, in the first half, the fact we were behind was against the run of play and things surely would have been so different had our second goal not been ruled out.

The fact there are some positives is undisputed. Amad is off the mark for the season, continuing his excellent form, and he will be relishing the chance to take on Liverpool. Nobody needs reminding of his goal against the Merseysiders in last season's Emirates FA Cup quarter-final and the visit of our fiercest rivals is guaranteed to be one of the biggest occasions of any campaign.

Old Trafford will be raucous and there can truly be no better way to bounce back from the Amex Stadium setback with a victory against Arne Slot's men that would send morale soaring again. It has happened before and the preparation at Carrington will ensure we are in a position to approach the international break with a spring back in the step.

"Obviously, we are disappointed," admitted Erik. "When you lose, it is a big difference, of course, in the mood."

Three points next Sunday would change all that, dramatically. Any defeat is hard to take but particularly one suffered with a winner so late in the game. Yet everyone inside the Theatre of Dreams will be hoping any misfortune suffered against Brighton will even itself out when the stakes are highest. Those fine margins need to go our way.

The opinions in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of Manchester United Football Club.