The muddied white kits will have been drenched almost as much by sweat as the relentless rain.

'Liverpool FC 2-1 Man United' read the scoreboard with ten minutes to go. Plenty of United fans would have taken that before kick-off. When it switched to 2-2, United were not content with taking a point.

Amad, responsible for it, is becoming the Scousers' scourge. After the winner in the FA Cup quarter-final for the ages, the talisman of Ruben Amorim's United notched an equaliser to fuel his cult status.

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This was a performance that was a throwback to some of United's gutsy efforts at Anfield in the Eighties, so brutal they would have to be shown after the watershed. It was United's best performance at Anfield since the Juan Mata-inspired win in March 2015.

For nearly an hour, United were nigh-on flawless at Anfield. Within 11 self-destructive minutes where they conceded twice, they threatened to undo their good work.

"Down with the blue s***e," crowed the Scousers who finally found their voice in the 75th minute. United are closer to Everton in the table but this performance was closer to those on the red side of Stanley Park. It will give credence to theories that United's 14th-place status is false. Bracketing United with the word relegation does not feel quite as credible after that pugnacious performance.

The United players and staff were greeted with a chorus of "Oh United, we love you" as they approached the away end at full-time. There was a lot to love for those in the first tier of the Anfield Road End.

The benefit of a rare six-day gap between matches was evident in a dogged and diligent effort. That will give Amorim hope ahead of next Sunday's FA Cup third round tie at Arsenal. That tie no longer appears as daunting or unwinnable.

Alejandro Garnacho has lacked diligence of late and this was his seventh successive match without a start, by far his longest stretch since his full debut. Garnacho belatedly exhibited such gumption, coming on to create Amad's equaliser. He was sliding in by the touchline on the 88th minute to win a throw-in. Barely a minute later, he was racing towards the byline, winning a corner.

This is the United Amorim presented in the brochure. After Amad's 80th-minute leveller, they pushed as hard as Liverpool for a winner. These are the players who will run towards the opponent's goal and their own goal.

United more than exceeded expectations. In a match almost everyone wondered how many they would be beaten by, they dared to lead against the team that has lost once all season.

514 minutes the United supporters had waited. For the first time in 2,212 days, they scored at Anfield. United fans had craved that moment for years and Lisandro Martinez was generous enough to slam the ball in off the crossbar right in front of them.

Those in the front rows trampled over the stewards and poured onto the pitch. At a club that piously claims "this means more", that was disputed by the United throng that clambered over each other to envelop Martinez.

Amorim's trial and error has thrown up plenty of errors and they were committed for both of Liverpool's goals. Matthijs de Ligt was at the scene of both crimes, deceived by Cody Gakpo and then daft enough to leave his arm outstretched in the penalty area.

Even referee Michael Oliver, unusually restrained in such a marquee fixture, overlooked the handball. The Video Assistant Referee intervened to punish De Ligt for a second time this season.

United switched to 5-4-1 out of possession and Amorim has identified players prepared to run in both directions. Bruno Fernandes and Amad, the two playmakers, retreated with alacrity whenever United did not have the ball. Fernandes, pilloried for his ill-discipline at Molineux, was influential.

Amorim admitted before the game United were "starving for leaders" and the captains past and present were exemplary. Fernandes and Harry Maguire had their best days at Anfield in a United shirt. It should have been better, yet Maguire lifted the ball over the crossbar in the 97th minute with one of the last kicks.

Luke Shaw and Mason Mount were both in attendance in the Anfield directors' box, eager to support their teammates. It was some timely PR for Shaw after he was lambasted following his appearance in an influencer's TikTok video.

The Kop was quiet for much of the afternoon, seemingly waiting for the players to make it sing with the ball for them to start singing. "Where's your famous atmosphere?" asked the United followers less than 20 minutes in. They asked it repeatedly and there was no reply.

Gakpo and Alexis Mac Allister each came close in quick succession yet United had the best chance of a watchable first half. For the second season running when pitted against Alisson at the Kop, Rasmus Hojlund was devoid of conviction.

United were such a threat one Liverpool fan vented. "Move," he hollered. Gakpo was made aware of what they thought of him ducking out of a 50-50 with Manuel Ugarte early in the second half.

Liverpool may be ahead of United on the pitch but even Anfield is as leaky as Old Trafford. There were constant drips from the main stand roof, only constructed in 2016. Slush surrounded the ground, snow was shovelled to the touchline and the icy rain never stopped. Those are not conditions conducive for a team whose head coach called "afraid". United were fearless at Anfield.

There was a bullish roar that greeted the end of United's pre-match warm up. The away support is the truest gauge and the 3,052 in the Anfield Road belted out the names of Casemiro and Joshua Zirkzee, cruelly goaded by thousands at Old Trafford when his number was up in the defeat to Newcastle.

Zirkzee was serenaded to Seven Nation Army by The White Stripes, a tune usually reserved for Robin van Persie. There the similarities end between the Dutch forwards past and present. They aired it again when he emerged for the final five minutes.

His shirt was also muddied and drenched with sweat.