It says much about Liverpool's progress under Arne Slot that a draw against the self-proclaimed biggest club in the world is regarded a major disappointment. But a 2-2 draw at home to bitter North West rivals Manchester United on Sunday afternoon ensured the Reds remain six points clear at the Premier League summit with a game in hand.

After Lisandro Martinez opened the scoring for the visitors, Cody Gakpo struck an equaliser and Mohamed Salah converted a penalty only for Amad Diallo to snatch a point for United with 10 minutes remaining.

It made for a frustrating occasion at Anfield. And here's how the national media viewed a mild setback for Slot's side.

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Writing in The Times, Paul Hirst has declared Arsenal the big winners from the afternoon.

"Maybe the title race is not over just yet," he pens. "Maybe United’s most effective and composed display of Amorim’s two-month reign will give Arsenal belief that they can usurp the six-point gap that separates them from Arne Slot’s team, who, in fairness, do have a match in hand.

"That Slot came away from this match disappointed says everything about the standards he has set since he replaced Jürgen Klopp. Liverpool were not at their best, but they still had the lead here until the 80th minute.

"He always knew that there would be bumps in the road and there were positives, such as the displays of Alexis Mac Allister and Salah, who equalled Thierry Henry’s Premier League goal tally of 175 with his penalty."

Former ECHO scribe Chris Bascombe, now at The Telegraph, pointed to a lesson Liverpool are going to have to learn.

"City have taken a year off, and Arsenal are not the side they were for the past two years," he scribbles. "Chelsea are still in transition and everyone else would consider a top-four finish or European football worthy of organising an open-top bus tour.

"There have been occasions either side of Christmas when it has seemed only Liverpool consider the Premier League a realistic aim. That may explain why the final whistle here was met with near-silence. It was the sound of a fanbase desperate for the club’s 20th championship yet unable to shrug off the nagging doubt it will not be as straightforward as they hoped and many have predicted.

"With these loftier expectations – and increasing defeatism from the chasing pack – comes the inevitable conclusion that Liverpool’s greatest challenger this season may actually be themselves.

"The final lesson for anyone needing a gentle reminder is this: title winners, especially, must write their own story until the final chapter and never presume they are following a predictable script."

Andy Hunter, formerly of this parish, highlighted in The Guardian the comedy injury-time miss from Harry Maguire at a chance that would have earned United an undeserved win.

"Ruben Amorim visibly despaired after the two maligned United players combined to miss the opportunity to deliver a remarkable victory," he writes. "But there was plenty to encourage the Portuguese coach, United’s mentality chief among them. Liverpool remain six points clear at the Premier League summit, with a game in hand on nearest challengers Arsenal.

"But there was frustration among the leaders, Arne Slot damning his opponents with faint praise afterwards, at failing not only to increase the gap at the top but to inflict fresh torment on their fierce old rivals from Old Trafford. Cody Gakpo and Mohamed Salah overturned Lisandro Martínez’s opener to put Liverpool on course for another comeback triumph, only for Amad Diallo’s late strike to deliver a deserved point for Amorim’s team."

And it was all about United for Oliver Holt in the Daily Mail, although there was a brief pause to consider the impact on the home team.

"Liverpool were disappointing," he says. "United deserve some of the credit for that, of course, but the home side fell well below the standards they have set this season even if the game was lit up by a fine strike from Cody Gakpo and a penalty from Mo Salah that provoked an emotional response from the Egypt forward.

"Liverpool are still six points clear at the top of the Premier League but this match showed that they are not beyond vulnerability. The murmurs of discontent around Trent Alexander-Arnold's future grew and may yet become an issue for manager Arne Slot but the leaders still took a point and still produced some stunning moments of football. This was United's day, though."

And finally, the ECHO's Paul Gorst, writing in his match verdict, put this one down as an opportunity missed for Slot's side.

"On a weekend when Chelsea and more pointedly Arsenal both dropped points themselves, this 2-2 draw with Manchester United may only be cosmetic damage for Liverpool. But for the second season in a row, the Reds let a dishevelled Manchester United escape Anfield with a point in their possession and this will rankle for some time in Arne Slot’s inner circle.

"In full fairness to a United side, who arrived here as low as 14th in the Premier League, they were not the punch bag they were on their last visit 13 months ago when they covered up, conceded 34 shots and held on for dear life to secure a goalless draw.

"But having entered football’s most-watched club fixture 23 points clear of their arch-rivals, Liverpool failed to showcase their superiority as a much-improved United halted a run of four successive defeats at the most unlikely venue of them all. The opportunity to carve open more breathing space at the summit was instead spurned, handing a lifeline for Arsenal, who are now six points adrift of the Reds having played a game more than Slot’s team.