Liverpool failed to win for a fourth league game against Manchester United.

A cagey contest at Anfield failed to separate the Premier League’s leaders and its defending champions with neither side managing to break the deadlock.

Jurgen Klopp’s side slipped down to fourth in the table following Manchester City’s win later on Sunday but are still just three points off the summit.

Here were the key talking points from Anfield:

United clashes don’t match hype

 

Matches between Liverpool and Manchester United continue to be billed as being one of the most highly-anticipated contests in English football.

But after this clash saw their six of their previous nine meetings in the Premier League now ending in stalemate, it may be time for a rethink.

No one can dispute the intensity that still exists at opposing ends of the M62 yet Manchester City, rather than the Red Devils, are Anfield’s bigger thorn.

Even the spectacle of the Premier League champions and current leaders going toe-to-toe failed to inject any entertainment into proceedings here.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer lamented United’s latest visit to Merseyside as a missed opportunity in an encounter where both teams succumbed to brinkmanship.

The Norwegian is not Sir Alex Ferguson reincarnate and the days of Liverpool cowering at what the Old Trafford club has to offer are incredibly long gone.

Some things are best left in the past and the hype around this fixture is one of them.

Thiago thrives in Anfield bow

 

For Thiago Alcantara, good things really do come to those who have to wait.

Injury truncated the start of the midfielder’s Liverpool career and left him waiting to make a home bow four months after joining from Bayern Munich.

What Thiago has lost in time spent on the sidelines, however, he set about making up within just 10 short minutes of his Anfield debut against United.

As the visitors attempted to suffocate the space around him in possession, the Spain international was routinely able to twist and turn his way out of trouble.

Beyond that, he produced crisp tackles to steal the ball away and even tested David de Gea with a long-range effort that the goalkeeper had to parry.

Thiago’s quality is indisputable but the Reds have yet to see his core traits in all their glory due to the disruption as he attempted to settle into the side.

With more minutes on the clock, his full renaissance is only a matter of time.

Rock-solid Brazilians keep it clean

 

If Klopp owes huge gratitude to Thiago’s commanding display in the middle of the park, he is far more indebted to those positioned higher up the pitch.

Alisson and Fabinho forged a rock-solid double act which kept United at bay in stage when they were belatedly growing in both confidence and ascendancy.

Sharp reflexes from the Liverpool goalkeeper arguably kept this affair scoreless as he produced two instinctive stops during the second half.

Bruno Fernandes’ close-range effort was repelled by an outstretched leg while Paul Pogba’s later attempt required the Brazilian to be at his best once more.

Alisson’s compatriot also deserves huge credit for denying Fernandes a clear shot and snuffing out Marcus Rashford during his one-man counter attack.

Defence may not be where Fabinho sees his long-term Liverpool future but on current evidence, he could easily make one of the centre-back slots his own.

Reds’ numbers make grim reading

 

Statistics can be misleading, except in the current case of Liverpool’s attack.

A fourth winless outing in the Premier League magnified the ongoing flaws in the front line axis of Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino.

Klopp’s side now boast the dishonourable distinction of being Anfield’s first crop since March 2005 that has failed to score in a hat-trick of league games.

Worse still, just one of the 62 shots attempted since plundering seven goals against Crystal Palace before Christmas has actually made the net ripple.

That equates to an alarming conversion rate of 1.6 per cent.

Such profligacy is at odds with the swashbuckling play which Klopp has brought to life over his previous five-and-a-quarter years at the helm.

Only the German knows where the solution lies but it may present itself during the coming weeks in the form of Diogo Jota’s long-awaited return.