Manchester United claimed a crucial victory over Liverpool, picking up three valuable points that secured their place in next season’s Champions League.

United made a fast start, taking the lead within seven minutes through Matheus Cunha. Back in the lineup after missing the Brentford clash, the Brazilian marked his return in style with a crisp half-volley from the edge of the area to put his side ahead.

The lead was quickly doubled by Benjamin Šeško. Bruno Fernandes nodded the ball into his path, though he was not credited with what would have been his 20th assist of the season, and despite suspicions of a handball, VAR allowed the goal to stand because there was no clear evidence to overturn the decision.

Liverpool responded strongly after the break, scoring twice in the opening 10 minutes of the second half. Goals from Dominik Szoboszlai and Cody Gakpo exposed defensive lapses from United and brought the visitors level.

However, Kobbie Mainoo restored United’s advantage late on, firing home with just over 10 minutes remaining. From there, the hosts dug in defensively, withstanding intense pressure as Liverpool pushed forward in search of another equaliser, but ultimately held on to seal a dramatic 3-2 win.

In the reverse fixture at Anfield, Matheus Cunha was the preferred option to start as a forward, doing brilliantly across the front line to help secure a famous 2-1 win over their rivals.

Šeško was limited to 30 substitute minutes against Liverpool back then, but after enjoying a great run of form under Carrick, he has established himself as the club's main striker option.

Therefore, after scoring in the first half, many fans would have been concerned to see the Slovenian not re-emerge for the second half, visibly limping to the bench as he was replaced by Amad.

Carrick touched on the 22-year-old's injury after the game, saying that, "He's been carrying a shin problem for some time, he got pushed and caught the bit that's been causing him some problems."

While United have achieved their main goal for this season, which was to return to the top table of European football, they will still want to finish the season strongly, and Šeško will be a big miss if this injury forces him to miss the club's remaining three fixtures.

Last summer’s transfer window brought a significant shake-up to Manchester United’s attacking lineup, with the club introducing an entirely new forward line.

United oversaw a full attacking revamp, bringing in Bryan Mbeumo, Cunha and Šeško, with Marcus Rashford, Alejandro Garnacho, Antony, Jadon Sancho and Rasmus Højlund all seeing the exit door at Old Trafford either permanently or through loan moves.

With United returning to the Champions League, and expected to make much deeper progression in the domestic competitions, forward depth is still a big issue that could come back to haunt United if not addressed, much like the lack of midfield depth that the side has now.

When Šeško came off, instead of turning to his secondary striking option, Joshua Zirkzee, Carrick opted to shift Mbeumo into the middle, displaying the lack of faith that he has in the Dutch forward.

As has been suggested for a couple of seasons now, United should target an experienced striking option who can still compete for a starting place in the side and can even help develop the likes of Šeško.