The shots just kept on coming. On the surface, as the game kicked off it looked like a blank canvas where unconventional styles and shapes can come together in a heated battle. In the end it turned out to be a wide-open game full of moments of individual brilliance and incompetence. The Premier League has a lot of things going for it. Tactical versatility is not one of them. So when two traditional powerhouses in Manchester United and Liverpool faced off on Sunday, each starting with back threes, the potential was there for a real classic. We should have known better. Dont misunderstand me. This was a very entertaining match but at the end of it there was much more to pick apart than to admire. It is easy for fans of Manchester United to be very content as another weekend of Premier League action is put to bed. Six straight wins have pushed them comfortably into the top three and thats a position they could hold for the majority of the time between now and the end of May. Their recent memories are still full of nightmare images for such an iconic club and in the buildup to this one they were rehashed aplenty with many showing Liverpools 3-0 thumping of them at Old Trafford last term. An immediate turnaround of that score certainly sent them home from Old Trafford on Sunday very happy, but Louis Van Gaal will know there is still a lot of work to be done. The final score tells a story and we can forgive United fans for only wanting to know about that story right now but more telling was that goalkeeper David De Gea was named man of the match in a game his team won 3-0. The 24-year-old has easily been the teams best player this season and it is clear that Ed Woodward and the upper management feel it is very important to get the Spaniard a new contract as soon as possible. De Gea has made some wonderful saves this season, yet the one on Mario Balotelli in the second half may have been even better than his effort against Evertons Bryan Oviedo earlier this season. It is no coincidence that De Geas form has escalated at a time when the defence in front of him has been shaky. Van Gaal insistence on a back three, with Antonio Valencia and Ashley Young, for now, as wing backs has excited neutrals but has ensured the goalkeeper his busiest time since he came to Manchester. De Gea excels at shot stopping, stands tall and never allows his body to react early. The save against Balotelli was a perfect example of this as Sterling made a vertical run across the defence to get in behind but after he was denied, De Gea saw Balotelli open in the box and looked at him before Sterling passed the ball. His awareness was better than any of his defenders and the moment the Italian forward steadied himself to shoot the goalkeeper moved his foot to prepare to dive across goal. He had done something similar earlier in the half after Jonny Evans turned and hit a misplaced back pass towards the penalty box. Sterling ran on to it, intercepted it and was free on goal, but the moment he touched it, De Gea had sprinted out and was only three yards from the young forward. It was then that he stood still, waited for Sterling to make the move and reacted to deny him. Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers can be accused of some hyperbole about his team in his post match assessments this season and there is nothing wrong with publicly backing your players that way but after this one he didnt have to extend the truth at all. We created enough chances. We looked like scoring and we had enough chances to get something from the game, Rodgers said afterwards. Its unusual for a manager to say that when his team have been beaten by three goals but this is what is happening to teams that are playing United at the moment. All three of their wins this month – against Stoke, Southampton and Liverpool – has seen the opposition get many chances to score. That they didnt speaks, in part, to the evolution of De Gea into a true match winner but it should not necessarily speak to the true development of United. There is an undoubted belief about them this season that was lacking last year under David Moyes. A belief that gets them through awkward moments of matches that are not going their way and having such superb finishers in their team has also allowed them to score their way out of trouble also. However, United will still puzzle a perfectionist like Van Gaal. It is right to look at the long list of injuries and wonder if they could be better with some of them back but not one of them looks like the kind of player who could come in and bring an assurance and a presence the team needs to completely control matches. Beating a despised rival like Liverpool is another feather in the cap for the Dutchman but he will know just how poor the Reds are at the moment and how, at times, his team made them look more like the team from last season. This is the ultimate challenge for the manager going forward. Just how good are Uniteds opponents to present a severe test of their qualities? United will play many more games this season against teams far worse than Liverpool and will continue to pick up three points regularly. After all, even under Moyes for most of last season, they won 18 of 26 games against teams not in the top seven of the table. Eleven of their next 13 league fixtures, in the next three months, include such opponents and the other two are against an inconsistent Tottenham team, giving them plenty of opportunities to pick up points while not playing anywhere close to a level Van Gaal and Manchester United expect. It is easy to look at a league table and decide by a teams position whether or not they are having a good season but it is moments, in games that provides the evidence on whether or not a team and players are progressing. United desperately need to finish in the top four this season to regain a place at the lucrative top table of European football, in the Champions League, but based on the standard of quality from many teams in the league this should be a very easy target for them to hit. United need more than just that. In April they face three of the most difficult games you can get in a Premier League campaign with a home derby clash against Man City along with away games at Chelsea and Everton. A glance at the league table at that time will show us that United will be more than on their way to get Champions League football next season, but their performances in those matches will tell us just how far away they really are from getting anywhere close to what they ultimately should be. Chelsea and Manchester City have played a big part in the gap widening between them and the rest of the league but the others are culpable as well, treading water surrounded by mediocrity that isnt close to the standard delivered by the leagues top two. For United to get closer to the upper echelon they need to start dominating matches in more ways than just the scoreline. Stitched Athletics Jerseys . I suppose Sternberg has earned the right to speak out since his Rays, despite one of the lowest payrolls in the Majors at $58 million, are entering the final weekend of the regular season holding down the first Wild Card spot in the American League, one game ahead of Cleveland and two up on Texas. Athletics Jerseys 2020 . Felton pleaded guilty to attempted criminal possession of a weapon and criminal possession of a firearm. He admitted he knowingly had a large-capacity ammunition magazine and a semi-automatic pistol without a license. https://www.cheapathleticsonline.com/ . - The Minnesota Vikings have ruled Christian Ponder out for Sundays game at Baltimore, because the quarterback has not yet passed all of his post-concussion tests. Chris Bassitt Jersey . The Blue Jackets got goals from Cam Atkinson, Nick Foligno, Boone Jenner and R.J. Umberger and Curtis McElhinney posted his first shutout since 2011 in a 4-0 victory on Friday night. Wholesale Athletics Jerseys .Two San Francisco radio stations say they wont play the song during the duration of the World Series. A Kansas City, Missouri, station responded with plans to play the Grammy-winning track every hour from 7 a.Jon Jones six straight title defences have two things in common. First, they have all been against an opponent he has never fought before, and second, he has won them all. On Saturday Jones will once again face a challenger he has yet to meet in the octagon. Whether he wins or not is an entirely different story. At UFC 172 at the Baltimore Arena, Jones (19-1) will put his undisputed light heavyweight title on the line against Glover Teixeira. "Its the ultimate level of excitement to go out there and fight someone that you never sparred against before or you never had any physical contact with before," Jones said. "You figure out their strengths, their speed, what theyre good at. You figure it all out there on the fly. It just makes you feel so alive." Teixeira (22-2) is hailed as one of Jones biggest threats for the title at 205 lbs., thanks in large part to a 20-fight win streak he has put together over the last seven years. His pedigree is heightened more so by the fact that in those 20 consecutive victories he has finished his opponent 18 times (7 KO, 5 TKO, 6 submission). The streak, however, is nothing new to Jones. If not for a disqualification loss to Matt Hamill in 2009 for striking with illegal elbows, he would be a perfect 20-0 in his mixed martial arts career. He has also won 10 fights in a row since the DQ. Nonetheless, the achievement is not lost on the champ. "Obviously its something that I have to respect. Hes won 20 fights in a row for a reason," Jones said. "He must be something unique, special, but it motivates me. To beat a guy who has won 20 fights in a row you have to be something thats even more special." Although Teixeiras highlight reel could be used as a horror movie for pending opponents, Jones has certainly proven himself to be that "special" commodity. After winning the title in a dominant TKO of Maruicio "Shogun" Rua in 2011, Jones has gone on to successfully defend his belt against four former champions - Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, Lyoto Machida, Rashad Evans and Vitor Belfort - as well as one of the sports best wrestlers in Chael Sonnen and a narrow decision victory over Alexander Gustafsson. His latest fight, the five-round war with Gustafsson, showed the world that there are few things the reigning champion cant do. He had never looked so vulneraable in the octagon after being awarded the unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 49-46).dddddddddddd He had never looked more exposed, battered and beaten than he did that night. But in the end his hand was raised and the belt was back around his waist. Seven months later, Jones returns as what might be an even more dangerous fighter. "Having a long fight, having a marathon-style fight, it definitely gives me more confidence to know that not only do I have the cardio to keep up, I have the heart to keep up when the going gets tough," he said. It has long been known, and proven in his fight with Gustafsson and in many challenges before, that Jones is a superior physical specimen. He has a natural speed and precision that is a nightmare for all competitors, but its his aforementioned heart and mental strength that separates him. Meditation is a vital part of Jones training regiment, culminating on fight day when Jones says he likes to take his team away from the clutter of the upcoming event to prepare his mind for battle. "Well just look up some parks and beautiful scenic areas to go to, usually based around nature, and go visit that and just get some time away from the cameras and the hotel and well spend anywhere from an hour to two hours out there, just clear our heads and refocus on why were actually there in that town or city and thats my thing, thats what I do," he said. Jones also admits he is a visualizer. He enters every fight with the thought of his hand being raised, carrying the belt out of the arena and getting ready to prepare for another challenger. Clearly, its working. "Your mental approach is ultimately what reflects on the outcome of everything you do in life," he said. "I definitely credit my mental approach to martial arts and life to the success in the octagon." As for his seventh title defence, which would set a new light heavyweight record should he win, Jones is once again ready for a fighter he has never faced before. "Ill go out there and just be something that Glover couldnt train for - young, fast, athletic, creative, different," Jones said. "I see myself confusing him, frustrating him and ultimately stopping him one way or another whether its TKO, submission or a knockout. I plan on going out there and fighting smart, fighting hard and breaking him." ' ' '