Former Liverpool midfielder David Thompson thinks the Reds suffered from not being as fresh as Manchester United in the FA Cup tie at Old Trafford.

 

Manchester United won a thrilling FA Cup tie which ended 2-2 at full-time and then 4-3 in favour of the Red Devils after extra-time.

 

Liverpool played on Thursday night in the Europa League against Sparta Prague, while Manchester United did not have a game in midweek.

 

 

 

Thompson believes that the freshness of Manchester United proved to be crucial compared to a Liverpool team that had tired legs.

 

However, he feels Liverpool had chances to win it and on another day would have.

 

 

“I think the rest in midweek did them [Manchester United] the world of good”, Thompson said post match on LFC TV.

 

“Ultimately, we looked like we had some tired legs out there, especially Darwin Nunez.

 

 

“Man United looked frustrated up until the substitutions and I wouldn’t say they changed the game, but we had some tired legs out there.

 

“Even when it was 3-2 we had chances to go again and were just wasteful.

 

“On another day we go through to the next round.”

 

And overall, Thompson believes the limited recovery time that Liverpool had compared to Manchester United was a key factor.

 

“I think that three or four days rest wasn’t enough”, he added.

 

Manchester United have been rewarded for their progress with a semi-final tie against Coventry City, while Manchester City face Chelsea in the other semi-final.