Perhaps, subconsciously, there was an element of complacency for Liverpool. It had, after all, won every game against teams in the bottom half of the Premier League table up to this point under Arne Slot.

None of the Reds players would ever admit that and it must be noted that Manchester United put in its best performance for months, but Liverpool didn't perform to the level that it can at Anfield. In the context of the points gap between the teams, it was two points dropped.

Arne Slot, though, knew what was coming. "I think every game we play is a serious test," he told Sky Sports ahead of the game kicking off. "Manchester United has much more quality than some other teams, so we know, not only because of the rivalry but also the quality players, it is a challenging game.

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"Until now [we] haven't shown [complacency], but it might lead to the United players showing they are better than this. They had it with Manchester City away and last season with the FA Cup final. When you least expect it, they show up."

He couldn't have been more right. Bruno Fernandes was excellent and as much as Liverpool allowed him the freedom of the left flank at times, so too was Diogo Dalot. Kobbie Mainoo and Manuel Ugarte, meanwhile, did more than enough for Manchester United not to be overrun in midfield.

The 2-2 draw was a combination of Liverpool not playing anywhere near the level it can and its opponent doing everything right. Tactically, Ruben Amorim got it spot on in the first half, in particular, with his three-man defense outnumbering the Reds' attackers and nullifying the threat.

"The result is not good enough," Alexis Mac Allister told Sky Sports post-match. "The performance was not as good as we wanted but at the end, it was a fair result. We didn't play as we wanted, we conceded too many chances and had opportunities to score more goals, but that's football.

"The effort was there, the mentality was there because we came back but when you're winning 2-1 at 75 minutes you have to defend better and we couldn't do it. We have to think about it and improve the things we did wrong and move on.

"It happened too often that we start to play in games where we are losing. That's not what we want and that's why I say it is something we have to think about. But it is football. The effort and the mentality was there."

Slot was in agreement with his Argentine midfielder. "We started really well, had three open chances in the game and then there was a period of time which was more difficult for us," he told the BBC. "It is difficult if you play quality players that are playing in a low block with only [Rasmus] Hojlund and [Amad] Diallo as attackers.

"It's not always easy to find the gaps and that's what happened. Then being 1-0 down makes it even more difficult but I was very happy with the mentality we showed afterwards going 2-1 up."

And therein lies the conundrum. Liverpool can be content that it fought its way back into the game but will be kicking itself that it ever let Manchester United into the ascendency in the first place. It is also the fourth time in its last eight fixtures that Liverpool has conceded two or more goals inside 90 minutes.

Slot was right about Manchester United having the potential to pull a result out of nowhere. He and Mac Allister were correct to take the positives in coming from behind too. There is a growing feeling, however, that Liverpool is conceding too often at the moment not to give Arsenal at least a sliver of hope. That, above all, should be the focus of the next few weeks.