Adam Lallana's 85th minute goal ensured Liverpool secured a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford in today's only Premier League fixture.
The result puts Jurgen Klopp's side six points clear of Manchester City, who saw off Crystal Palace 2-0 last night.
The away side's winning run of games now ends at 17, one short of the record.
United boss Ole Gunnar Solakjaer set up his side differently in the first-half, with three at the back, and it appeared to work well before they ran out of steam in the second period.
Spanish goalkeeper David de Gea was fit to start, with Alisson returning between the sticks for Liverpool. Axel Tuanzebe had been named to start for United, but was injured in the warm-up and had to be replaced by Marcos Rojo.
Marcus Rashford had given United a deserved lead on 35 minutes, slotting home Daniel James' cross after VAR ruled Victor Lindelof hadn't committed a foul earlier on in the move.
The points are shared after a much-improved display from United. #MUFC #MUNLIV
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) October 20, 2019
Liverpool actually had a goal disallowed themselves by VAR in the opening half - Sadio Mané getting the better of Swedish international Lindelof before slotting home, only to be called back for a handball.
Liverpool goalscorer Lallana said when he was introduced to the fray by Klopp his instructions were simple.
“The manager just asked me to make an impact when I came on. I thought Ox did extremely well when he came on. If we’re gonna win the league we’ll need a squad, not just an XI, and that’s what we can take out of today’s game. We weren’t at our best so it’s a point gained.
“People were saying it would be an easy three points for us. That’s never the case, and form goes out the window in these games. It felt like we controlled the game in the second half. We’re still unbeaten so there are huge positives considering we didn’t play our best.”
Liverpool midfielder Jordan Henderson was full of praise for his goalscoring teammate.
“I'm delighted for Adam, because he’s worked so hard and he deserves that. He saved us today and that could be a big point come the end of the season. We could have been better – we know that – but if you can’t win, don’t lose. We were sloppy first half, not fluid enough; it was quite scrappy. Second half I thought we caused them more problems, especially towards the end of the game, but we couldn’t find a winner.
“I felt the referee gave a lot of similar free-kicks to them in the first half, and then he didn’t give one to us on their goal. But it’s no excuse, we’ve got to defend it better. Our performance level wasn’t up to our usual standards. We have to take the positives from the game and learn from the negatives."
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