How Ruben Amorim outfoxed Liverpool with dangers, belief and roaming centre backs – and what’s wanted now in his Man United tactical evolution, writes DANNY MURPHY

If Ruben Amorim learned anything from Manchester United’s unexpected draw against Liverpool, it’s that being pragmatic suits his current set of players.

Amorim needed a result at Anfield following a horrendous run of five defeats in six and found a way to achieve it, deservedly so.

United weren’t embarrassed to show Liverpool respect to drop off and deny them space. The distances were smaller between all their players and Amorim had a central midfield pair in Manuel Ugarte and Kobbie Mainoo who could run.

There were long periods when United camped in and Liverpool went side to side. It was similar to how they beat Manchester City in the FA Cup final and then again at the Etihad last month. They were hard to break down with a low block and countered very well.

Don’t get me wrong, United also played well with the ball. They showed a confidence to get out and cause Liverpool problems which was lacking in losses against Bournemouth and Newcastle.

At the right times, the back-three – and Lisandro Martinez in particular – had the freedom to step out and follow Liverpool’s forwards into midfield which not only helped Ugarte and Mainoo stop danger, but also initiated the Argentine’s opening goal when he dispossessed Mo Salah and continued his run forward.

United looked like a group of high-quality internationals who were wounded and had a point to prove. There is nothing more dangerous than a resilient group of players who have been criticised and feel obliged to show a response.

They were able to do that against the Premier League leaders because of the shape Amorim worked on with them; defend deep, block the gaps and when you have the ball, be confident in using it.

It was a good tactic to utilise the athleticism of Diogo Dalot on United’s left. He is quick and fit and keeps going. Trent Alexander-Arnold had a bad day but could have been helped by Mo Salah getting out more quickly to the United wing-back.

United’s success also came from being willing to take the ball in tight areas and trust in their ability. Bruno Fernandes was outstanding, Mainoo and Ugarte were prepared to play forward even if it was the riskier pass.

Amorim spoke of the benefit of having had time to train properly and you could see the results.

There was an organisation in their set-up. Everyone knew who they were supposed to be picking up and the midfield was given numerical assistance, both from the defenders, and Amad Diallo and Fernandes. Going forward, you could see they tried to exploit the spaces Liverpool left because of their high line.

It was positive for United fans to see Amorim can create a game plan and it wouldn’t surprise me if they played like that in the FA Cup at Arsenal next Sunday.

The issue longer-term is that those supporters will want to see them dominate games like the United of old. The reality is if they’d gone toe-to-toe with Liverpool, they’d have lost, and credit Amorim for realising that.

Moving forward, he will still need a change of personnel to become a more front-foot, adventurous team. 

The present group can pull off isolated results against anyone by being pragmatic but if they opened up, their old vulnerabilities will be exposed, as we’ve seen regularly this season.

In a couple of weeks, United are at home to Brighton and I’ll be fascinated to see how Amorim plays it; play on the counter as he did at Anfield? Or try to be more expansive, even if it means they might get found out because of a lack of legs.

At least we know Amorim is capable of being flexible within his preferred formation. That alone made Sunday’s game significant.