The match grew even more physically intense afterward, and due to Atkinson's lenient officiating standards, heavy fouls on the field became increasingly frequent.
In less than twenty minutes, the attacking players of both Manchester United and Liverpool were covered in grass stains and mud, looking quite disheveled from being tackled to the floor.
As the match entered the 20th minute, Liverpool entered their most dominant phase.
Anfield seemed to reverberate with the heavy, pulsing sound of heavy metal music.
Manchester United's entire formation retreated deep into their own half, setting up a dense, compact defense within the thirty-meter zone.
Mourinho's idea was very simple: through reasonable tactical arrangements, draw Liverpool into a frustrating positional battle and then execute a rapid defensive counterattack against them when they overcommitted.
After all, Liverpool had the famous attacking trident, but Manchester United's frontline boasted Rashford, Ling, and Mahrez.
If they were to truly compare pace on the break, Manchester United should have the upper hand.
The tactic initially achieved good results in stifling the game, but soon Mourinho noticed something was off.
Salah began reducing his time on the ball on the right, instead opting to distribute quick passes, make decoy runs, and create space, becoming much more team-oriented rather than looking to shoot.
Liverpool's attacks gradually overloaded toward the left side instead.
By the time Mourinho wanted to issue a warning shout from the touchline, it was already too late.
Keïta received a pass from Fabinho on the left flank, controlling it in one motion and easily evading Kovačić's weak pressing.
After advancing a few meters into the final third, he directly slotted the ball to the edge of the penalty area.
Roberto Firmino, unlike a traditional target-man center-forward, excelled most at dropping deep and distributing the ball.
His ability to control the ball in front of the penalty area under pressure was undoubtedly world-class.
Peter Drury: "Firmino turns half away, dribbling toward the left byline... Is he preparing for a tight-angle shot? No! He waits!"
Firmino and Mané's overlapping runs successfully disrupted Manchester United's defensive line, pulling defenders out of position.
Liverpool's number 9 made a disguised, blind back-pass to the edge of the box, and Liverpool's number 10 followed up with a fierce, low drive aimed right into the near corner!
The ball sailed past De Gea and into Manchester United's goal without a doubt!
1-0!!!
Anfield instantly erupted with deafening, primal cheers, as tens of thousands of Liverpool fans rose to their feet, wildly waving their arms and scarves.
The feeling of scoring against their bitter arch-rivals sent everyone into an absolute frenzy.
The humiliation of being defeated twice by Manchester United last season and being trampled underfoot in the league was finally being repaid today!
On the Sky Sports commentary panel, Jamie Carragher also shouted excitedly, throwing his professional neutrality out the window.
"SADIO MANÉ! He is the hero of Anfield today!" Carragher cheered.
"Manchester United, what do you have to win with now?!"
Beside him, Gary Neville remained completely silent.
Although he had confidence in Manchester United, he couldn't help but feel deeply worried, as the cost of losing his bet with Carragher was too high.
Gerrard also smiled happily at the goal, glancing provocatively at Rooney.
"See, Wayne? It proves that Keïta is worthy of wearing the number eight shirt after all."
Rooney fell silent upon hearing this.
...
On the pitch, Jeremy Ling watched Mané's stylish knee-slide celebration by the corner flag and couldn't help but wipe the sweat from his forehead.
Van Dijk had indeed put a lot of pressure on him, but it wasn't enough to completely shut him down.
The key issue likely lay in the midfield battle.
Manchester United's midfield defensive intensity was far too low today, making them prone to severe lapses in positional play.
If it were the Liverpool of old, with no one capable of delivering the ball forward creatively, this goal would never have been scored.
But Keïta's arrival and Fabinho's passing had completely improved this problem for Klopp.
'If only Ander were on the field,' Ling thought to himself in frustration.
Unfortunately, the tenacious Herrera had been injured during the Club World Cup in the UAE and could only watch the match from home.
Ling didn't offer any words of encouragement to his teammates.
He didn't need to.
Because today was the North West Derby, and every Manchester United player was already determined not to lose!
BEEP!!!
The referee blew his whistle, and the match resumed from the center circle.
Liverpool, having gained the upper hand and fueled by the roaring crowd, showed no mercy, launching a frenzied, suffocating press.
They seemed to regard themselves as hungry beasts, with the football as their delicious prey.
The Manchester United players struggled to cope.
First, they had just returned from the United Arab Emirates, and both their physical fitness and sharpness were clearly inferior to Liverpool's well-rested players.
Second was the glaring weakness in midfield.
Liverpool players frequently utilized their individual physical abilities to engage in and win one-on-one duels with United's defenders.
Even after losing possession, they would immediately counter-press in packs to regain the ball high up the pitch.
They either completely disrupted Manchester United's quick counterattacks before they began or interfered dangerously with their build-up play from the back.
On the sidelines, Mourinho frowned deeply, having also identified the midfield issue.
Pogba and Kovačić's defensive capabilities were too weak for a game of this magnitude, and their defensive enthusiasm when tracking back was severely lacking.
When attacking, they were often double-teamed by red shirts, causing Manchester United's overall formation to become disjointed.
The forwards, including Ling, were left completely isolated up front.
For the moment, Mourinho couldn't think of a good tactical solution to bypass the press.
He could only instruct Rashford and Mahrez to drop much deeper, using numerical superiority to compensate for the midfield gap.
Time passed unnoticed in the grueling battle.
In the 34th minute of the first half, Salah dribbled forward in the attacking third, seized a tiny pocket of space, and took a left-footed long-range shot.
Although the power was insufficient, the angle he chose was extremely precise, dipping toward the bottom corner.
Peter Drury: "Salah shoots... BEAUTIFUL SAVE FROM DE GEA! A world-class fingertip save to keep the deficit at one!"
Jim Beglin: "I've noticed that De Gea always performs far beyond his usual level when facing the truly strong teams, Peter. He thrives under this pressure."
Just five minutes later, Eric Bailly's aggressive pressing paid off as he finally won the ball cleanly from Mané's feet deep in his own half and immediately played a sharp diagonal pass to Kovačić to start a counter.
Kovačić and Pogba share similar technical styles, both possessing excellent ball control, dribbling ability, and the capacity to create chances in tight spaces.
With a quick series of touches, the Croatian cleverly shook off Keïta's press.
Nearby Liverpool players quickly swarmed to provide support, but Kovačić didn't hold onto the ball unnecessarily this time.
He handled it cleanly and decisively.
Thump!
The ball was pinged perfectly out to Liverpool's exposed right flank.
Peter Drury: "What a beautiful, raking pass from Kovačić! Although he has had limited playing time this season, his pass completion rate is superb!"
As the camera swiftly shifted, Mahrez came into view.
After picking up speed, he made a diagonal run down the flank, closely followed by Andy Robertson.
As is well known, Liverpool's two full-backs have the license to push forward without restriction. In Klopp's tactical setup, he often relies on the full-backs' high forward runs to break the deadlock in the attacking third.
Therefore, Liverpool's full-backs are often caught out of position defensively on the counter.
Robertson was caught off guard by the speed of the transition and left behind, forced to grit his teeth and chase Mahrez desperately toward his own box.
But Mahrez had already cut inside to the central area.
He feigned a shot with his left foot but instead slipped a disguised pass into the box!
Everyone's eyes followed the football, only to find its destination was none other than Manchester United's number 7!
"Don't let him turn!" Van Dijk shouted anxiously at his defensive partner.
Since Van Dijk had moved forward slightly to block Mahrez's anticipated shot, he could only leave Dejan Lovren to mark Jeremy Ling in the box.
But Van Dijk knew just how incredibly strong and agile Jeremy Ling was—no matter how opponents tried to defend against him, he always found a tiny gap to deliver a fatal blow!
Unfortunately for Liverpool, his warning came a bit too late.
Ling, receiving the ball with his back to the goal, firmly held off Lovren with his strength, his eyes fixed on the trajectory of the ball.
How could he complete a shot in such limited space with a defender draped all over him?
Instinctively, his thoughts turned to three-dimensional space.
With his right foot slightly raised, he brilliantly cushioned the ball in the air, flicking it up and then aggressively pushed off his standing leg in the opposite direction.
Smack!
The ball leaped like a lively spirit right past Lovren's left side, while Ling completed a brilliant spinning turn in the air to bypass the defender completely!
Manchester United fans in the away end were already on their feet, ready to cheer for the spectacular equalizer.
But the very next second, Lovren realized he had been completely beaten and had missed the ball.
In a panic, he forcefully collided his entire body weight into Ling.
Ling lost his balance mid-air and crashed heavily to the ground inside the penalty area.
The loose ball slowly rolled harmlessly out of bounds for a goal kick.
"NO FOUL!" Atkinson yelled, aggressively waving his arms and signaling for a Liverpool goal kick.
"He deliberately bumped into me from the outside, completely disrupting my attacking opportunity with the ball! Shouldn't that be a penalty?!" Ling got up from the turf and ran up to Atkinson, angrily questioning the referee.
Manchester United players also gathered around in furious protest.
But no matter how Ling explained the clear contact, Atkinson remained totally unmoved.
"Damn it!" Ling cursed under his breath.
However, looking down at the captain's armband on his sleeve, he forcibly suppressed his boiling anger and called the complaining Manchester United players back to defend.
Arguing about it now was pointless, and the stubborn referee wouldn't change his call.
The Manchester United fans in the stands were also furious, directing sharp, deafening boos at Atkinson, though they were soon drowned out by the mocking cheers of the relieved Liverpool supporters.
Lovren let out a long, shaky sigh of relief.
He had fully prepared himself for a yellow card and to concede a penalty, but unexpectedly, Atkinson's leniency had allowed him to escape any punishment.
...
On the Sky Sports desk, the debate raged instantly.
"I think that was a stonewall penalty foul! Lovren clearly committed a foul on Jeremy's blind side, physically preventing him from a clear one-on-one chance against the goalkeeper in the box!" Gary Neville argued passionately, pointing at the replay monitor.
"I think there was absolutely no issue there, Gary. The referee correctly considered whether the force of the collision was actually enough to bring Jeremy down," Carragher retorted, his face flushed red with bias.
"Clearly, he went down too easily! It wasn't a foul!"
The two engaged in a heated, shouting argument over the issue in front of countless online viewers.
...
On the field, the match had already resumed.
With only a few minutes left until the end of the first half, Klopp decisively chose to reduce the intensity of the heavy metal attack, aiming to manage the game and take the lead safely into halftime.
Things proceeded exactly as he had planned.
After Manchester United missed the golden opportunity to equalize through the non-penalty call, they posed no further threat to Liverpool's goal.
Mourinho also decided to call off the desperate pressing, opting to safely navigate the final moments and seek tactical opportunities to reorganize in the second half.
Beep-beep!
Not long after, Atkinson blew his whistle, signaling the end of a chaotic first half!