Yes, there was only a single goal in it, yes Newcastle retained their dignity heads high, and certainly massive strides have been made in the last few months.
However in terms of learning how far United must improve to reside amongst the very best then the truth is a significant gulf has to be bridged.
Elite football is a squad game not a team game and Liverpool's quadruple chasers were able to bench superstars of the quality of Footballer of the Year Mo Salah, midfield genius Thiago, and full-back marauderer Trent Alexander-Arnold and still play in cruise control.
