Liverpool are strangely missing one player and Manchester United draw proves it

Rarely can moving level with the Premier League leaders in April have felt so disappointing.

That Liverpool once again departed Old Trafford with an overwhelming sense of regret said much about a bizarre but in some ways inevitable afternoon against Manchester United.

Sure, Mohamed Salah’s late penalty ensured the Reds left with a 2-2 draw – progress on the FA Cup quarter-final defeat here last month – and are only kept off the summit by goal difference from Arsenal.

Liverpool player ratings as Alexis Mac Allister and one other excellent in Manchester United draw

Roy Keane fires blunt Liverpool Premier League title message to Jurgen Klopp

But, with seven games remaining, the title destiny of Jurgen Klopp’s side is out of their hands. And should they fall short by a few points, a failure to beat a team as deceptively poor as United will ultimately prove a contributory factor.

That this stalemate means Liverpool are already guaranteed to finish above their bitter North West rivals with six weeks of the season to run highlights the chasm in quality between the sides that was painfully apparent for much of this largely one-sided encounter. That, though, doesn’t count for anything unless it is converted into the only currency that matters – goals.

And over the course of two Premier League draws against United, for all of Liverpool’s dominance – they had 62 shots to 15 – the ones that counted were Salah’s penalty and an earlier good Luis Diaz reaction from a corner.

The missed chances this time were good ones, Dominik Szoboszlai in the first half, Darwin Nunez, Salah and Diaz after the break. Taking just one of those would have rendered irrelevant the self-inflicted strikes from Bruno Fernandes and Kobbie Mainoo after the