MANCHESTER UNITED finally showed some steel as they drew 2-2 against rivals Liverpool.
The league leaders remained deadlocked despite leading 2-1 at Anfield.
Mo Salah's penalty looked to have sealed the victory and extended their lead at the top of the table.
But Amad Diallo's timely effort earned Ruben Amorim a point.
There were brilliant battles all over the field, with some proving more decisive than others.
Here, SunSport's Dean Scoggins lifts the lid on Tactics Exposed…
TRENTE A REAL GOAL
Based on that performance, a free transfer to Real Madrid is too expensive.
Everyone has been talking about Trent Alexander Arnold's defense for a long time. We know he's not the best defensively, but he has so many other qualities.
All credit to Ruben Amorim because it wasn't just about a poor performance, it was about Manchester United focusing on that area. (GRAB 1 & 2)
54 percent of United's attacks went down the left and that was no coincidence.
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Even Ugarte and Mainoo were on the left, but it was Bruno who played a fantastic match.
His tactical knowledge and plan with Diogo Dalot were brilliant. (GRAB 3 & 4)
They blocked the left lane where Trent would normally drive in reverse.
He thought, 'I can't really get in there, so I'll stay in my right-back position,' and Dalot hugged the left flank really wide.
Trent didn't want to go all the way to him as that leaves a huge hole inside for Fernandes.
He ended up in no man's land and despite having the most touches of any Liverpool player, he did nothing with the ball.
His mind was confused, maybe the transfer was involved, but I don't want to take anything away from what United did.
As soon as Fernandes and Dalot pushed Trent to right-back, Rasmus Hojlund ran into the space behind him. United all sang from the same sheet.
MAINOO & MANU MASTERCLASS
Mainoo and Ugarte's legs are back.
Ugarte is very good at the simple act of giving it to someone else. while Mainoo is very good in tight spaces.
In Amorim's 3-4-3, the two midfielders have a lot of work to do. Mainoo was excellent, playing Curtis Jones off the park.
There is still a lot of ground to be covered, not just up and down, but across the pitch to prevent Liverpool from gaining ground.
One midfielder held Trent back as he turned, the other was on the other side where Alexis MacAllister likes to drift inside.
They suppressed Liverpool in that area, they reduced the boundary, leaving no room for Mo Salah to play in between.
There was no joy for Diaz either. Ugarte and Mainoo dropped on the edge of the penalty area, leaving Harry Maguire in the middle to dictate play.
They felt comfortable without the ball for the first time under Amorim. It was really a big step forward.
JUMPING DEFENDERS
Jumping out of position in front of defenders means getting out of the back line.
Playing with just the three is dangerous. But we saw all three of United's centre-backs jump out of position at the right time to move into action with a striker or midfielder.
They won big tackles because they trusted the other two guys to be behind.
It doesn't necessarily mean you're going to win the ball, but you're closing down the space in midfield. You know there are others behind you.
A message is sent: “You don't get time to get here.”
What it meant was that Liverpool played the ball backwards the most of any game this season.
OVER & ONANA
We are seeing more and more positive signals from Onana. Usually with him they use a zigzag pattern to play from the back.
But in this game it was much more direct. They were 80 percent long passes from Onana.
This wasn't a hoof. This was a plan. They didn't want to play with their own box. Liverpool are pressing machines.
The 3-4-3 made the field smaller. It was a bit old fashioned. They could try to win back the second ball.
It made it a much more structured game than Liverpool wanted.
But it was exactly what Amorim wanted.
FINAL'S DARWIN THEORY
It was a very brave substitution from Arne Slot to make Darwin Nunez 1-1.
We know what he brings: chaos. He makes those quick runs back and drags the defense along.
When you see him running, you can't hold your line and hope for an offside.
Slot pushed Nunez forward because he was fed up with Maguire dictating the game.
It was very smart of Slot, he knew that United had his form and number at that moment.
It changed the pattern, the last twenty minutes were chaotic and fair play to United for setting it up.
It was a beautiful watch. From a neutral perspective it was good to see someone give Liverpool a good game.
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