Manchester United seals top five finish with win over Liverpool
Kobbie Mainoo scored the winner as Manchester United beat Liverpool 3-2 at Old Trafford to secure Champions League qualification for next season.
After Bournemouth's 3-0 win over Crystal Palace earlier in the day, the Red Devils needed one point to be certain of finishing in the Premier League's top five.
It looked as though they would take all three comfortably after a lightning start had them 2-0 up inside 14 minutes. Matheus Cunha's strike deflected in off Alexis Mac Allister, then Freddie Woodman was unfortunate to see the ball bounce in off Benjamin Sesko after he got a hand to Bruno Fernandes's header across goal.
Fernandes passed up a good chance to put United 3-0 up before half-time, but Michael Carrick's team then lost control of the contest within 11 minutes of the restart.
Dominik Szoboszlai intercepted Amad Diallo's loose pass and carried the ball from deep before finishing across Senne Lammens, who then gifted Liverpool its equaliser.
Mac Allister latched onto the goalkeeper's loose pass and found Szoboszlai, who immediately teed up Cody Gakpo for a first-time finish.
Lammens atoned by preventing an own goal from Luke Shaw, and United made the most of that reprieve when Mac Allister's weak clearance fell to Mainoo in the 77th minute.
The midfielder, who signed a new five-year contract at Old Trafford earlier this week, confidently placed a first-time effort into the bottom-left corner, as United guaranteed its place among Europe's elite for next season.
Liverpool still needs a maximum of four points to join them in clinching a top-five finish, with Chelsea, Aston Villa and Brentford its final three opponents.
