Liverpool were held to a frustrating draw despite dominating Manchester United at Anfield and have now won just once in eight games.
The Reds were on top for long periods and peppered the United goal with 19 shots, but a combination of outstanding goalkeeping by David de Gea and poor finishing denied them a decisive moment.
The most noteworthy incident of an uneventful first half was De Gea denying Joel Matip from close range with a brilliant reflex save with his outstretched left boot, before Mohamed Salah fired the rebound wide.
United offered very little quality in attack although Simon Mignolet had to smartly parry Romelu Lukaku’s fierce attempt before the interval.
Liverpool dominated even more after half-time but Emre Can wasted their best chance when he volleyed over the bar from eight yards after being picked out by the impressive Joe Gomez’s precise cross.
The point was enough to take United – with nine clean sheets in their past 10 league games – to the top of the table, one point ahead of Manchester City, who host Stoke City at 15:00 BST.
History repeats itself
It’s almost a year to the day Liverpool and United played out a goalless and drab stalemate in the same stadium, with the hosts subdued by a vintage Jose Mourinho masterclass in defensive organisation and discipline.
Twelve months on, this game was only marginally better despite Liverpool taking the match to United after the break.
A year ago, United were grateful for two fine second-half saves from goalkeeper De Gea to dent Can and Philippe Coutinho.
This time the Spaniard produced a magnificent save with his foot to keep out Matip from close range on his way to his 18th Premier League clean sheet of 2017.
This was only Liverpool’s third clean sheet in 13 games this season but Mourinho will have been the happier manager at the final whistle.
The visitors had just 38% of possession – a 3% improvement on their last visit – yet they produced a dogged defensive display to stop Liverpool from scoring for only the second time this season in the Premier League.
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Source: BBC