Struggling Manchester United surprised Premier League fans with a spectacular 2-1 win over reigning champions Liverpool at their home. Harry Maguire’s late header secured United’s first victory at the ground in almost a decade.

It was also the first time United have won back-to-back league games under Ruben Amorim. The last time they triumphed at Anfield was in January 2016.

Liverpool, meanwhile, have now lost four games in a row in all competitions for the first time since November 2014.

United took just 62 seconds to go ahead in the game — the quickest Premier League goal at Anfield between these two sides — when Amad Diallo’s diagonal pass found Bryan Mbeumo, who beat Liverpool’s goalkeeper to give his side an early lead.

Arne Slot’s men piled pressure on the visitors after conceding but were unable to find an equaliser before the break. They kept up the intensity after the restart, and Cody Gakpo brought Liverpool level in the 78th minute with a close-range tap-in.

However, United were in no mood to settle for a point. Led by captain Bruno Fernandes, they pushed forward again, and Maguire scored the winning goal just six minutes later.

Liverpool were a bit unlucky, creating numerous chances to score, but failing to convert any. Gakpo could have earned a penalty in the 18th minute when his volley struck Diallo’s hand and deflected wide, but referee Michael Oliver decided not to award a spot-kick. Gakpo also hit the crossbar three times, including once in stoppage time when Liverpool came close to equalising again.

With this victory, United climbed to ninth place with 13 points from eight matches, while Liverpool missed the chance to close the gap on leaders Arsenal, who top the table with 19 points from the same number of games. The Reds sit fourth with 15 points, having won five of their eight league matches.

Liverpool will visit Frankfurt on Wednesday to face Eintracht in the Champions League before returning to league action away at Brentford next Saturday.

United’s next game is at home to Brighton on Saturday. Brighton have won their last three games at Old Trafford. So, that will be another test for the Red Devils — one they will be eager to overcome to continue their progress.