Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk said he felt Manchester United had been disrespected in the build-up to Sunday's 2-2 draw at Anfield - and pointed to a question asked at Arne Slot's pre-match press conference as evidence.

United turned in their best performance of the Ruben Amorim era to claim a point against the league leaders and they matched Slot's side throughout the contest.

The Dutchman had warned his players to expect a reaction from United after a run of four successive defeats in all competitions, while Amorim also benefitted from having his longest spell yet on the training ground.

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But Van Dijk also felt United had been shown the respect they deserved and was unhappy that Slot's Friday press conference began with a question about potentially resting players.

"The team you're facing are 14th, arguably one of the worst Manchester United sides ever. Are you trying to rest any players on Sunday," Slot was asked. The Liverpool head coach laughed before saying "that's a strange question" and rejecting the suggestion.

But Van Dijk was still annoyed about it after Sunday's thrilling draw. He privately asked Sky Sports' staff at the game who had asked the question before telling them he felt it was disrespectful, a claim he repeated when talking to reporters in the mixed zone.

"I heard in the press conference someone asked if we were going to rotate players against United. I was shocked," he said. "It is one of the biggest games of the season and United will always make it tough. To hear that, I was surprised."

Van Dijk said his side had been "sloppy" after going 2-1 up, with Amad snatching a late equaliser after Lisandro Martinez had given United the lead early in the second half. When he was asked what led to that sloppiness, he again pointed to United's quality and said they were obviously a work in progress under Amorim.

"We are playing against a good opponent," he said. "I think everyone from the outside world forgets that by the sound that had been going around before the game. They have good players. They are obviously a work in progress like we are but they made it difficult for us.

"We have been there last year too, and drew 0-0 I think. It is always a special one (this fixture) and today is no different. We could and should have done better in having the ball, keeping it longer. We showed good things as well, resilience again after going 1-0 down. So it was good things and less good things. We have to get up."