Jones: United fans earned us Liverpool point

It is one of the most atmospheric derbies in world football, and Manchester United defender Phil Jones believes the Old Trafford crowd are to thank for rescuing a point against bitter rivals Liverpool.

United trailed with just six minutes remaining on home turf, but Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s header levelled up the contest before both sides settled for a point in a frantic finish.

It was a game the hosts undoubtedly had to battle for, looking like coming away pointless after James Milner’s penalty from a Paul Pogba handball opened the scoring for Jurgen Klopp’s side.

And for Jones, the majority backing of a 75,000-strong crowd proved its worth for Jose Mourinho’s side, who elected to mix things up after going a goal behind.

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – JANUARY 15: Phil Jones of Manchester United in action with Roberto Firmino and Emre Can of Liverpool during the Premier League match between Manchester United and Liverpool at Old Trafford on January 15, 2017 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Tom Purslow/Man Utd via Getty Images)

“You could hear them throughout the game, even when we were 1-0 down, they were terrific,” he said.

“They helped us get that equaliser, the place erupted when Ibra scored, it absolutely erupted.

“The manager said that in the first half we played too much into their hands. You could see in the second half we went a little bit more direct and they struggled to deal with it, especially with Ibra up top.

“Straight away from when the second half whistle went it must have been like a basketball match to watch.

“They attacked, we attacked, and it continued like that for the 45 minutes. It’s just unfortunate we didn’t score the goal early enough to put them under a bit more pressure to get the second that we wanted.”