The mood was not pretty after Liverpool’s draw with Manchester United. Given the difference in the form books, perhaps certain fans made the mistake of heading to Anfield expecting a rout — even the more cautious were optimistic Jürgen Klopp’s side would at least find a way to win, as it had been doing so relentlessly in the lead-up to this historic fixture.

My snap reaction was no different to most other Liverpool supporters. Writing analysis on the whistle and in the immediate aftermath, ‘turgid’ was one word I used, with the overwhelming feeling being one of frustration.

It felt as though Manchester United had offered nothing, and yet Liverpool had played into that game plan, allowing Erik ten Hag’s men to sit deep and absorb the pressure without even really having their feathers ruffled very much. It’s no secret that Klopp has occasionally struggled against stubborn low blocks, and this felt like a major step back — especially against the backdrop of failing to reclaim top spot, along with the missed opportunity to move even further clear of Manchester City.

But Klopp, despite no doubt feeling these frustrations at least as much as any fan, struck a surprising tone with his post-match remarks. At the time, it was hard to understand: he hailed what would have been a ‘brilliant’ Liverpool performance if only the Reds could have found a goal.

A few days later, I was lucky enough to be at Anfield for Liverpool’s 5-1 League Cup romp at the expense of West Ham United. And watching the action unfold, in what was surely one of the performances of the campaign so far, I understood what Klopp had meant about that Manchester United game.

Once again, Liverpool was faced with an opponent seemingly offering absolutely nothing in attack. But whether it was the repeating patterns from that game against Ten Hag’s side, or the benefit of watching in the flesh, I could see clearly that this was far from the whole story.

West Ham had dumped out Arsenal in the last round of the League Cup, and has taken points off Newcastle this season too — David Moyes has developed an often lethal counter-attacking outfit. If it looked blunt here, that’s because of what Liverpool was doing right.

Klopp said the Manchester United game might have been the best counter-pressing performance he has seen from his current group of players. The West Ham game must have pushed it close, with Liverpool once again restricting the opponent’s time and space on the ball with ruthless efficiency.

Meanwhile, Virgil van Dijk and Jarell Quansah were massively dominant against long balls, with the midfield sharp to react to sweep up the second balls and put Liverpool back on the front foot. West Ham’s goal came from nothing in a game that was effectively one-way traffic.

Even so, it still took a special effort from Dominik Szoboszlai to break the deadlock in the first place. If there’s one thing I would stand by from Manchester United, it’s that Liverpool needs to find more repeatable ways to goal against defensive opponents.