Now that some time has passed and I can move past the initial disappointment of having lost 2 points, let's try to look back at the game.

When I saw they had both Matip and Clyne not included in their matchday squad and Coutinho was only starting on the bench, on top of this being a home game for us and also getting an extra day of rest / preparation - I couldn't help but think this was our match to lose now.

The game started and the first half was pretty much a disaster. We gave away a needless penalty, in turn gifting them the lead. The goal composed them and they had much better half than us, in spite of us coming close to scoring on 3 separate occasions - the Pogba miss, the Mkhitaryan save and the Ibrahimovic save from the free kick. However our overall play was very poor, we couldn't string together half as many passes in Liverpool's half as they could in our half.

The second half saw us going at it full throttle, giving it out all physically - which is the least we can expect of this team under Mou. We had plenty of desire but still lacked the quality. Even in the second half, Liverpool looked more threatening on the ball than us. A squandered opportunity comes to mind when Mkhitaryan passed the ball to Martial instead of shooting for goal and the chance went begging. However they were one off chances, not really representative of continuous incision on our part. Ibra saved us a point in the end with a tremendously well directed header. He wasn't too involved in the game yesterday but when the goal was there for the taking, he rose to the challenge. That's what great players do.

So here's my overall thoughts. I was almost more disappointed with our quality of play yesterday that the points we dropped. I really expected better from us, given the kind of form we were coming into this match. I still honestly think Liverpool had a very decent away game and given they were missing players like Mane, Matip, Clyne and Coutinho who only played the final 30 minutes - I think they deserve more respect than we do. At this point, I can only concede that they are a better football team than us in the present moment. We have been good for the last couple of months but apart from that Tottenham match, have we really been tested? What concerns me right now is our performances against the top teams. We have been nowhere close to what we consider our standard in the league games against City, Chelsea and both matches against Liverpool. Have we been getting too ahead of ourselves recently, with the win streak and unbeaten streak and what not? Should we just hold back and let the team actually be good enough to take on the best in our league and in Europe? Because honestly, I think we are yet to evolve to get to that level. We are good, but not good enough. Yet. Not that I doubt we'll get there, but let's not get ahead of ourselves for now. Getting Champions League this season has to be our main objective and it'll be incredibly tough getting there but let's stick together and try.

Also just a final word, I see a lot of hate here regarding Van Gaal. We bring him up time and again to make ourselves feel better about our present situation and this season. I don't think we need to do that. Let's be thankful for his services and respect the man for the transitional job he did. He got rid of a lot of deadwood and slimmed down our squad which provided opportunities to a lot of talented youngsters. Also he has a terrific win % against the top teams in the league, we were never dominated out of a game. Yes the football was dire but that's alright - it's in the past now.

Onwards and upwards now to hopefully a season that sees us get top 4. Thanks for reading guys.

TL;DR : We have been good for the last couple of months but let's not get ahead of ourselves and wait to be tested against the top teams. It's a matter of concern our worst performances have come against the best (City, Chelsea, Liverpool). But there's evidence of a lot of good happening at the club and let's take satisfaction in that. Also please don't talk unnecessarily bring up Van Gaal and talk shit about him, the man deserves more respect than he gets.