Manchester United played out a 0-0 draw with arch-rivals Liverpool at Anfield and while the result wasn’t the ideal one for either side, there were plenty of talking points that emerged from Saturday’s Premier League tie.

In case you missed the game, The Statesman has picked out the five major talking points that dominated the Liverpool-Manchester United game.

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Philippe Coutinho: Victim of his own honesty?

Liverpool’s twinkle-toed magician had a quiet game by his lofty standards but was involved in a incident which saw many Reds fans slate his honest approach.

Modern football has been plagued with diving incidents over the years and while it was commendable the Brazilian stayed on his feet after a challenge from Ander Herrera just inside the box, the home support would have preferred he went down claiming a penalty.

Thankfully for Herrera and United, Coutinho attempted to keep playing before ultimately stumbling but referee Martin Atkinson waved away appeals for a spot-kick.

Admittedly, the contact wasn’t immense, but had Liverpool’s No.10 gone down immediately, the match official may as well have awarded the home side a telling penalty.

David De Gea: A player worth his weight in gold

Liverpool must hate the sight of David de Gea more than any other United player.

How often has the Spaniard custodian kept the Reds at bay single-handedly?

Reds fans will say too many to count and while on Saturday De Gea wasn’t called into action too many times, his first-half save from Joel Matip was world-class and deflated the hosts’ confidence.

Matip’s close-range shot was going in but the United keeper showcased his lightning-fast reflexes by sticking out a foot to make an jaw-dropping save.

How United must be thanking their fax machine for scuttling his deadline-day move to Real Madrid last summer.

Both teams drew, but one team lost

Coming into the tie at Anfield, Manchester United were clearly the form team but Jose Mourinho wasn’t getting carried away with their brilliant start and set up his side to hit the Reds on the counter.

And while Liverpool dominated from minute 1-90, they had precious little to show for it.

The post-match interviews from both teams told the real picture, as the majority of United players were content with their display and the result while the Liverpool ones were left rueing their profligacy and wondering what could have been.

Trailing United by seven points going into the clash, they knew nothing but a win would suffice but three points were not forthcoming on the night.

Romelu Lukaku and Mohamed Salah not clinical enough

Romelu Lukaku missed a golden chance to silence his critics who say he doesn’t perform against the big teams as he fluffed a one-on-one with Simon Mignolet just before the interval.

Had United scored, one feels that they would have weathered out a Liverpool storm to clinch a 1-0 win and while it would have been an unfair result, champion sides often find a way to beat opponents who are playing better than them.

The Belgian has hit the ground running since his summer move but there will be more matches like these when he gets just one chance and has to put it away. His miss against Stoke proved to be telling as the Potters held United to a 2-2 draw earlier in the season and this time around too, the Red Devils dropped points.

For the hosts, Liverpool winger Mohamed Salah was guilty of profligacy once again. His misses against Manchester City had proved costly and against United, the Egyptian’s finishing was found wanting as well.

Matip’s shot was superbly saved by de Gea, but the rebound fell to Salah and despite having the goal at his mercy, he could only shoot wide. Yes, he was surrounded by defenders, but his effort should really have hit the target.

Are Liverpool out of the title race?

Yes, just eight matches have been played but the fact remains that Liverpool trail leaders United by seven points. And should City beat Stoke later on Saturday they will be leading the Premier League and will be a considerable nine points ahead of the Reds.

That’s three wins and while in theory, Jurgen Klopp’s men can reduce that gap as the season progresses for City are bound to drop points sometime this season, it remains unlikely they will be challenging for the title.

They travel to Tottenham Hotspur next week and should they drop points again, another scrap for the Champions League spots looks to be on the cards.