Kobbie Mainoo’s late strike earns a thrilling victory after bitter rivals Liverpool had fought back from two goals down.Published On 3 May 20263 May 2026Manchester United secured Champions League football next season as Kobbie Mainoo’s strike earned a thrilling 3-2 victory over old rivals Liverpool.United were 2-0 up inside 15 minutes on Sunday through Matheus Cunha and Benjamin Sesko, but imploded after the break to allow Arne Slot’s men to level with goals from Dominik Szoboszlai and Cody Gakpo before Mainoo secured the win.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of listA return to Europe’s elite competition after a two-year absence and another big game win furthers Michael Carrick’s case to continue as United boss next season.Mainoo has embodied the upturn in United’s fortunes since Carrick took charge in January.Overlooked by Ruben Amorim, the England midfielder earned a new five-year contract this week and celebrated in style with a cool finish from the edge of the box to edge a wild encounter.Third-placed United open up a six-point lead over Liverpool and are guaranteed to finish in the top five.Despite an 11th league defeat of the season, Liverpool likely need only three points from their three remaining games to also secure a place in the Champions League.Slot’s side arrived at Old Trafford depleted without the forward trio of Mohamed Salah, Hugo Ekitike and Alexander Isak through injury.United sensed blood and were well worthy of their early two-goal lead.Cunha was afforded two chances to find his range from the edge of the box to open the scoring.The Brazilian’s strike flicked off Alexis Mac Allister to give Liverpool’s third-choice goalkeeper Freddie Woodman no chance. Advertisement The waves of United attack kept coming, and …
