This was a thrilling, bruising game, and even a very funny one at times. Not least in its final significant act in the 97th minute, a cross from the right that found Harry Maguire unmarked in front of goal and wreathed suddenly in the cold, hard spotlight of destiny, but opting instead to smash the ball into the crowd like a man punting a crumpled beer can over a factory fence.
The end result was a good draw for Manchester United, which is no small thing, and definitely an improvement on the recent trend for bad defeats. It was probably a good result for Liverpool too after a performance that was spirited at times but some way short of the sunlit stroll of the first half of the season. This point will perhaps mean more by the end than some of those cloudless victories.
