Neville compares Martinez’s goal to Giggs’ classic Liverpool v Man United

Gary Neville compared Lisandro Martinez’s goal for Manchester United at Anfield to a Ryan Giggs classic, only for the visitors to squander their surprise advantage.

Seven minutes after the restart, an attack down the left allowed centre-back Martinez to crash in Bruno Fernandes’ opener and end United’s six-year wait for a goal at home to the Reds.

“They played really well,” former United captain Neville told Sky Sports. “Honestly, it’s a miracle where this team has been over the last few weeks – they’ve been a disaster, but they were lovely today.

“Just crashing it into the roof of the net. It’s almost like Ryan Giggs in the ’99 (FA Cup) semi-final against Arsenal. This Manchester United team, arguably one of the worst, has one of the best performances we’ve seen after 55 minutes.”

Lisandro Martínez unleashes a thunderbolt strike beyond Alisson! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/z3vmqkbIol

— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) January 5, 2025

Ryan Giggs goal reviewed?

United legend Giggs scored his iconic solo goal in added time to beat Arsenal in a replay at Villa Park almost 26 years ago, knocking out the headlines before the Red Devils won the final against Newcastle.

For the 19 minutes that followed, former right-back Neville was able to enjoy less for the side that started matchday 14 in the Premier League.

Cody Gakpo equalized less than eight minutes after Martinez scored, and Mohamed Salah’s penalty in the 70th minute turned the score around.

In the 20 minutes following United’s goal, Liverpool had five attempts and seven of nine touches in the opposition area between the teams.

Exactly one week until our last one @EmiratesFACup semi-final, so let’s look back at a previous…#Today in 1999, Ryan Giggs intercepted a pass in midfield and did it against Arsenal 👇 pic.twitter.com/LfWDgnhu6g

— Manchester United (@ManUtd) April 14, 2018

Liverpool vs Man United: The visitors respond

United’s distribution also seemed to go awry with an unlikely win in sight, producing a woeful 51% accuracy in that period, compared to Liverpool’s 77%.

However, they hit back when Amad Diallo, who had earlier produced a strange miss from Diogo Dalot’s cross, fired in a low finish.

Ruben Amorim’s troubled side went into the game on a four-match losing streak in all competitions, including three successive league defeats without scoring.

Liverpool’s win sent them eight points clear of second-placed Arsenal with a game in hand against the Gunners.