Manchester United broke Liverpool’s unbeaten run at Anfield on Sunday, drawing 0-0 with the Premier League title contenders after wins for Arsenal and Aston Villa.
Jurgen Klopp’s men entered the game as hot favourites to inflict further misery on their bitter rivals, having won 11 games in all competitions at home this season.
Liverpool dominated, with nearly 70% possession and 34 shots to United’s six, but they were unable to break through against their tenacious opponents.
Klopp’s men finish the day second in the table, one point behind Arsenal, who beat Brighton 2-0 earlier in the day.
It was a moral triumph for United boss Erik ten Hag, whose team was thrashed 7-0 at Anfield last season and had 12 defeats in 24 games this season.
United were without suspended captain Bruno Fernandes, and out-of-form Marcus Rashford was once again benched.
After a devastating home defeat against Bournemouth last week and a disappointing Champions League exit in midweek, they dug deep and halted their slump.
In the first half, United goalkeeper Andre Onana saved a close-range Virgil van Dijk header, and the visitors had a chance to win when Rasmus Hojlund’s shot was stopped at the near post by Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson Becker.
Van Dijk said the Liverpool team were frustrated by the result, believing they were “superior in all aspects”.
“If you see how we played the game, we had most of the ball and created some opportunities,” he told Sky Sports. “There was only one team trying to win the game.
“We want to win every game of course and that is why it is frustrating. Sometimes we shot too easy and could have passed on the overlap. The right decision was sometimes lacking.”
Scott McTominay, who skippered United, said his team were disappointed they did not create more opportunities.
“We had to stay calm and stick together and we had moments in the game where we had chances and could have hurt them,” he added.
Arsenal dominate
Arsenal, who finished second to Manchester City last season, controlled at the Emirates, missing a number of chances before breaking through in the 53rd minute.
Jan Paul van Hecke, a Brighton defender, tried to head a corner away but only managed to tip it into the path of Gabriel Jesus, who headed the ball into an empty net.
In the closing minutes, Kai Havertz extended Arsenal’s lead, sliding past goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen after being found by Eddie Nketiah.
“Incredible performance,” Arteta told the BBC. “A joy to watch from the start to the end. The way we did it against this very good team.
“Even at half-time the scoreline didn’t reflect that. We fully deserved to win the game.”
Unai Emery’s Villa went behind to a Keane Lewis-Potter strike on the stroke of halftime across London.
Brentford’s Ben Mee was sent off in the 71st minute, and Villa equalized six minutes later when Alex Moreno got on the end of a Leon Bailey cross.
With five minutes remaining, Ollie Watkins completed the comeback against his former club by heading in a Boubacar Kamara flick-on from a corner to make it 2-1.
Kamara was sent off in the closing minutes for violent conduct.
West Ham defeated Wolves 3-0 at the London Stadium thanks to two goals from Mohammed Kudus and three assists from Lucas Paqueta.
Manchester City blew a 2-0 lead to draw 2-2 with Roy Hodgson’s Crystal Palace on Saturday before flying to Saudi Arabia to compete in the Club World Cup.
The weekend’s Premier League action was overshadowed by a shocking occurrence at Bournemouth, where Luton captain Tom Lockyer collapsed and died, forcing Saturday’s game to be called off.
Lockyer was responsive before being transferred to the hospital, according to Luton, and was in “stable” condition. The club provided an update on Sunday, stating that he was having testing and scans.