90 min: There will be at least two more minutes.

89 min: Klopp is raging on the bench. His team are deservedly in front but he knows that they are not yet safe from an away goal and, indeed, should be further ahead. Meanwhile on the United bench, Ryan Giggs looks, let’s say, gnomic.

88 min: Origi harasses Carrick into conceding a corner. Lallana and Clyne try a move that may have been worked out on the training grounds of Liverpool and Southampton but founders in real life.

86 min: This ref really doesn’t like players raising their legs as they make tackles. Fellaini has just conceded a freekick for such a challenge on Henderson. Lallana delivers from the right. It’s cleared as far as Clyne, who has a pop from 20 yards. Herrera blocks.

84 min: “Liverpool are going to have to be careful here,” suggests Gareth Davies. “They won’t want to get Fellaini sent off.” And moments after the arrival of that email, Fellaini almost nuts the ball into the Liverpool net. He leapt high to meet a cross from Schweinsteiger and nodded a couple of yards wide.

83 min: Liverpool substitution: Firmino off, Origi on.

81 min: Lallana brings cheers from the home crowd by selling Schweinsteiger a lollipop in midfield. There’s real vibrancy in Liverpool now.

80 min: Since going 2-0 down, United have done absolutely nothing to suggest they might nick an away goal. They’re having a job keeping the deficit down to two goals ...

78 min: The corner yields nothing. And here comes United’s change. Actually, two of them. Mata off, Herrera on. Schneiderlin off, Schweinsteiger on.

77 min: Schweinsteiger is getting undressed on the sideline. As in removing his tracksuit, nothing too risqué. But Van Gaal will not make the change until after this Liverpool corner ...

71 min: This could be trouble for United. The ref - excessive pernickety - punishes Rojo for a high foot at the edge of the box. Fortunately for the visitors, Coutinho’s freekick is appalling. But Lallana shows twinkling feet moments later to slip the ball back to Firmino, who wins a corner. Smalling clears.

69 min: Lallana twists and turns at the byline before looking up and spotting Henderson near the edge of the box. He duly tees up his captain, who slaps a decent effort just past the post!

67 min: Liverpool squeeze the ball out of Mata with a high-up press. Clyne then unleashes a superb, almost Nelinho-esque shot from 25 yards. De Gea the stop. And when I saw “almost Nelinho-esque”, I mean it bent backwards a little.

63 min: Liverpool substitution: Sturridge off, Allen on. Doesn’t sound like the most inspiring change but Sturridge probably can’t last 90 minutes at the moment and Allen might help Liverpool regain control in midfield, while Firmino or Coutinho flits as disguised strikers.

62 min: Memphis scurries infield from the left and rolls a cute pass into Martial, who had darted through on the blindside of Sakho. But the younger Frenchman’s first touch doesn’t match the move and allows Liverpool to recover and clear.

60 min: Fellaini booked, possibly for grotesque incompetence: in attempting to dispossess Clyne, he swung wildly at fresh air, the potent waft knocking the full-back to the ground.

59 min: Can triggers a Liverpool counter-attack with a raking crossfield pass to Lallana, who pings in a centre from wide on the right. Smalling heads it behind for a corner.

56 min: Pressure is growing from United. They’re pushing Liverpool back. Clyne makes an important tackle to prevent Fellaini from getting off a shot at the edge of the area. But Liverpool remain corralled into their own third of the pitch - Van Gaal’s tactical change is working - and the visitors eventually work the ball wide to Varela, who clips in a dangerous cross. Mignolet charges off his line to punch it away.

54 min: Coutinho lets fly from 20 yards, catching a bouncing ball perfectly. It’s swirling towards goal until De Gea makes yet another intervention, tipping it over the bar.

52 min: United are improving. The tactical switch has stemmed Liverpool’s flow and the visitors are starting to enjoy more possession, with Carrick initiating moves from deep.

50 min: United bring Mignolet into the game at last, Schneiderlin forcing him to make a save with a decent 20-yard shot.

48 min: Rojo mistimes a challenge and Henderson goes falling over his outstretched leg. The ref wisely decides not to reach for a card but does give Liverpool a freekick midway inside the United half. Moreno’s delivery is wretched but United’s attempt to defend it is not better and Liverpool get a corner. They take it short, Clyne knocks it back to Coutinho, who nudges the ball past Memphis and jumps to the ground. His booking for diving is fully deserved.

47 min: It looks like Van Gaal has changed more than personnel: United appear to have gone to a back three, with Carrick alongside Smalling and Rojo. Blind is now at left wing-back.

46 min: Van Gaal has made a change: Rashford off, Carrick on.

Van Gaal basically has two choices here. He could plough on with his current strategy and hope De Gea keeps rescuing his team and maybe that Liverpool blunder at the back. Or he could be more pro-active and try to get United playing their way forward with greater regularity by introducing Carrick or Herrera, sticking Rashford up front and Martial out wide (or replacing Rashford with Darmian).

44 min: Rashford booked for catching Moreno late. Van Gaal would be well advised to make a change at half-time because Rashford is not enjoying the unfamiliar defensive role on the right.

42 min: Lovren becomes the third player to get a booking, after Henderson and Memphis.

41 min: Another fabulous save by De Gea! Lallana got on the end of a lovely Liverpool move and a cross from Firmino, but the keeper showed fine reflexes to turn the ball away.

39 min: Rashford has effectively become a right-back, spending most of his time defending against Moreno, who has very much got the upper hand in that duel after an inauspicious start.

37 min: Liverpool are looking menacing in bursts. The way United are defending suggests the home side could build a handsome first-leg lead with just a touch more sharpness. They’re dominating territorially now but neither Firmino, Coutinho nor Sturridge have yet to hit top form. The quality, in truth, has been low so far.

35 min: A foul by Lovren gives United a freekick in a promising position. To the left, about 25 yards out. The angle looks too acute for a shot but it’s prime crossing territory. Unless you’re Memphis, who opts for the shot. It wobbles way wide. “Would a Clinton Trump scarf have Trumpton printed on it?” wonders Dave Manby.

31 min: Smalling makes an embarrassing mistake, diving past the ball as he tries to cut out a cross with his head. The cross runs to Sturridge, who takes a touch and then tries to lash it into the net from six yards. De Gea rushes out to make an excellent block.

29 min: Fellaini, king of the chest control, takes a long throw-in down on his chest, and tries to fire off a shot in the Liverpool box. It’s blocked and the ball bounces to a panicky Sakho, who takes a mighty swing at it but gets only his little toe to it, sending it all of three yards in front of him. That allows Mata to latch on to it inside the Liverpool area. Sakho lunges at him, Mata rides the challenge and resists any temptation to go down, which is lucky for Liverpool, who eventually scramble the ball away.

26 min: Fine work by Moreno to win the ball back for Liverpool just inside the United half. That sets a Liverpool move that culminates with Clyne dribbling down the right and delivering a cross that United clear. By the way, a replay has confirmed that the award of the penalty to Liverpool was correct. In other news, here’s a retail tip for scarf-makers.

23 min: What a miss! What an inexcusable miss! Sturridge rolled the ball across the face of goal, leaving Coutinho with a simple tap in at the back post! Complacency, perhaps, convinced the Brazilian to dab it into the net with the outside of his right foot but it was such a gentle touch that it gave De Gea a chance to plunge bakwards and make a superb save! Great goalkeeping, awful finishing!

22 min: Fellaini beats Can to a corner kick, heading it away. but Liverpool, now flushed with confidence, regain possession and start probing anew. United need to hang on hard over the next few minutes.

18 min: Moreno races behind the United defence down the left and delivers a fine cross. Sturridge retrieves it beyond the back post. But his pass back to Lallana is slightly misjudged, forcing Lallana to stop and reach back to get it. That’s enough to allow United to recover and crowd him out.

16 min: Liverpool secure possession in midfield. United funnel back into shape. Liverpool knock the ball about a bit but with little movement ahead of them, they go nowhere. Can eventually tries to disorganise United by dribbling straight through them, but Schneiderlin puts an end to that plan. They’re looking solid so far, United.

14 min: Varela appears to be man-marking Coutinho He’s followed the Brazilian everywhere so far. But that has not stopped him joining in attacks when his own team have the ball.

12 min: Andy Cole is in the away end, alongside the aforementioned Irwin and Pallister. And it’s from that end that most of the noise is coming at the moment. Liverpool fans are quit subdued as their team has yet to settle. United have been marginally more assured so far.

10 min: De Gea tonks a clearance straight out of play just inside his own half. The match is still in that scrappy spell.

7 min: Rashford feeds Varela, who feints his way past Moreno before being taken down by his the Spaniard. The Spanish referee decides against issuing a yellow card. Only Henderson has one so far, for a studs-up tackle a couple of minutes ago.

5 min: United’s early vim has abated, but the pre-emptive strike against Liverpool’s early onslaught worked. The match has entered a scrappy spell.

3 min: Liverpool were expected to come tearing out of the blocks but United, clearly under orders from Van Gaal, have have stolen their thunder and forced them on to the back foot early doors. Rashford is on the right, Martial central.

1 min: Go! United kick off and within 15 seconds Memphis skitters past Clyne and fires over a cross. Moreno misjudges it and is lucky that Rashford is too surprised to apply a sure finish, making a heavy touch with the goal at his mercy 10 yards out. Rashford showed his inexperience there, being surprised by a goof from Moreno.

“Jordan Henderson will try to dominate the centre of the park like Steven Gerrad used to,” says BT’s commentator. Well yes, he will try.

A final note on the half-n-half scarves before it all kicks off. “It’s precisely because the half ‘n’ half scarf is aimed at those flying in from Seattle, Beijing, or Dubai that they are so hated,” bawls Andrew Laws. “The one true love of your life reduced to a tourist destination, the anguish, grief, and frustration reduced to ‘atmosphere’ for the travelling soccerati who won’t be there when it all goes South and you spend a decade in the Championship.” Andrew, by the way, adds that he is a Boro fans. In Vancouver.

Here come the players, chests out, steely glares fixed. Only the ref is smiling. Hmmm...

The atmosphere is bubbling nicely. Anfield is awash with flags and banners, including a gigantic one in the Kop referring to Liverpool’s five European Cups. At the moment the noise levels are low, but that’ll change when the teams enter the arena. And on that note, here comes You’ll Never Walk Alone over the PA. Home fans sing along, their scarves aloft, while the visiting hordes bay “Manchester, Manchester” with impressive volume before being drowned out by the crescendo to Liverpool’s anthem. It’s on alright!

In case you weren’t following tonight’s other match, Tottenham’s attempt to keep Dortmund at bay with one hand tied behind their back by Mauricio Pochettino ended in predictable failure. London isn’t in Europe any more.

Peter Oh seemed miffed by Jerry Parks’ inquiry at 19.39 below. “Please ask Mr Seattle what he would think of a half-Sounders, half-Timbers scarf!?”

“I don’t quite grasp the level of vitriol directed towards these half-and-half scarves,” whimpers Jerry Parks. “It is strange to wear something to a match that seemingly expresses support for both teams competing but what’s wrong with them as a souvenir stuffed in a back pocket and hung on the wall back home? I’m actually a crazy person who will be flying from Seattle, USA, to attend the second leg at Old Trafford next week and was considering buying one. Will doing so expose me to being pilloried as a ‘Plastic Yank ****’ or other Mancunian epithets?”

Klopp, by the way, is now inspecting the pitch, wearing a gleaming white tracksuit top. A gesture towards peace among bitter enemies? Or perhaps it’s a karate Gi? “It’s always funny/irritating to see two English teams trying to adjust to a foreign referee,” parps David Flynn. “I’m expecting plenty of cards, plenty of bemused looks and a game with about as much flow as a dry river bed.”

Jurgen Klopp, bubbling with glee, has just spoken on TV: “I like this tournament and these two games against Man United are the benefit for all the hard work we’ve done so far. I’m optimistic. It’s important for the fans and it’s important for us too, so that’s good, there’s no misunderstanding between us and the fans! We are in a good moment: tonight we will see how good. We have to prove it.”

Gary Pallister and Dennis Irwin are among the fans in the away tonight! No sign of Torben Piechnik or Jimmy Carter in the home seats, but there always there in spirit.

“I just started going to gym and run for around 15 minutes everyday after which I am pretty much done and dusted. But today, when I was 12 minutes into the running, I told myself that if I run 20 mins today Liverpool will win,” Gokul Kannan. “I kept my end of the bargain and laboured to 20 mins of running. Someone else has to keep his end of the bargain. If Liverpool win today, I will start getting fitter and Liverpool will get meaner.” That may be so, Gokul, but what if they lose? Will you run even farther before the second leg? Or abandon running all together? My advice is to dance, no matter what.

“I can see that top scarf being the least sold one in history,” barks Ricky Mullen, and many, many others. But why? The match programme will sell thousands and what is the scarf but a similar memento? One, indeed, that will keep punters warm on a chilly night on Merseyside. Doesn’t offer much to read, admittedly, but apparently words are old hat these days, so scarves is very better than writing. Yes?

Those lines-ups promise goals. Both sides look stronger up top than at the back. The inclusion of Sturridge in front of a trio that can fairly sparkle when on song gives Liverpool the edge, in my book, but United’s trio behind Marcus Rashford can be nifty too. Memphis and/or Martial could punish any faffing by Alberto Moreno. And the goalkeepers will obviously be crucial. David De Gea has thwarted Liverpool before. As has Simon Mignolet. For what it’s worth, I’m backing 3-1 to Liverpool.