The winners and losers at Old Trafford on Monday night might not have been who many expected them to be in terms of the result, but there were some individual performances who caught the eye too.
And some that didn't.
Strikes from Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford saw Manchester United race into a two-goal lead against their rivals Liverpool, who could only pull back a late consolation through Mohamed Salah despite dominating the ball for large periods.
As they failed to do much with it it turned into a chastening night for the visitors, but a glorious one for the hosts.
Here are the main winners and losers from the evening.
WINNERS
Jadon Sancho
Finally a big goal in a big game for last summer's sizeable signing, the type of player that Erik ten Hag can build his side around if he gets his way and gets certain other attackers off the books.
Granted, Liverpool's defenders seemed puzzlingly happy to allow the former Borussia Dortmund man to have the time on the ball in the box that he is not accustomed to, but he finished with aplomb past Alisson and showed that he can be the type of player Ten Hag wants.
There is, after all, a reason why United are endlessly linked with some of Dutch football's most exciting attackers.
They've got a good English one here though, if only he started to believe it.
Lisandro Martinez
So that's what the removal of Harry Maguire can do for you.
That's harsh, obviously, but it was clear to see that the Argentinean was having a much better time of it alongside Raphael Varane against Liverpool, as - dare we say it - he grew in stature over the 90 minutes after a couple of shrinking displays against Brighton and Brentford.
Martinez was strong, determined to get in the face of Mohamed Salah and displayed a touch of the dark arts which J urgen Klopp didn't take to kindly to.
He became a cult hero in 90 minutes.
Marcus Rashford
There was a remark among the assembled press that this may well have been the first time that we've seen Rashford smile in years.
The forward looked unencumbered as he raced at Trent Alexander-Arnold and the Liverpool defence time after time, finding the net with that composed finish early in the second half at the precise point the visitors were ramping it up, and generally looking as though he was enjoying expressing himself.
With the focal point of Cristiano Ronaldo removed, Rashford looked every inch the exciting young attacker he has proven himself to be.
He can still be the future of this club under this manager.
LOSERS
Trent Alexander-Arnold
This isn't a time for the same old boring conversations about the Liverpool right-back, but more about the structure of the team ahead of him.
For years Alexander-Arnold has thrived when he's got a set framework to work around, with usually Fabinho screening in front of the back four, Jordan Henderson performing diligently to his right and Mohamed Salah racing away ahead.
That was always going to come to an end one day though.
With Klopp confirming the out-of-form Fabinho wasn't injured here, just dropped, and instead replacing the forlorn Henderson before the hour mark, Alexander-Arnold looked exposed defensively despite his often promising link-up play with Harvey Elliott and Salah.
This isn't about the individual, there is more to it than that, but Alexander-Arnold needs to find his place within a Liverpool system that looks stale.
James Milner
It feels harsh to single out the old man of the Liverpool side, but then there is a strong argument to say that his mere presence here underlined what is wrong right now.
With unreliable midfielders having picked up injuries, and others looking woefully out of form, it was the veteran who was turned to from the start here.
Milner still has a place in the Liverpool squad, and in fact he has been one of their better performing midfielders of late, but starting a game such as this one?
Granted there were the injuries that allowed that to happen, but he looked off the pace throughout.
Cristiano Ronaldo
He got his cameo for four minutes plus injury time after the match, but Cristiano Ronaldo must have felt that the writing was on the wall watching this.
As was put to Ten Hag post-match, he really can't set up his side to play like this if Ronaldo is leading the line for him, and the days of indulging the Portuguese could be over already as the manager turns to his younger, hungrier players.
We all know that a parting of the ways is best for all parties, and that seemed to edge closer here.
