88th minute reaction vs Liverpool shows Ruben Amorim has the Manchester United players to depend on

The muddied white kits will have been drenched almost as much by sweat as the relentless rain.

'Liverpool FC 2-1 Man United' read the scoreboard with ten minutes to go. Plenty of United fans would have taken that before kick-off. When it switched to 2-2, United were not content with taking a point.

Amad, responsible for it, is becoming the Scousers' scourge. After the winner in the FA Cup quarter-final for the ages, the talisman of Ruben Amorim's United notched an equaliser to fuel his cult status.

This was a performance that was a throwback to some of United's gutsy efforts at Anfield in the Eighties, so brutal they would have to be shown after the watershed. It was United's best performance at Anfield since the Juan Mata-inspired win in March 2015.

For nearly an hour, United were nigh-on flawless at Anfield. Within 11 self-destructive minutes where they conceded twice, they threatened to undo their good work.

"Down with the blue s***e," crowed the Scousers who finally found their voice in the 75th minute. United are closer to Everton in the table but this performance was closer to those on the red side of Stanley Park. It will give credence to theories that United's 14th-place status is false. Bracketing United with the word relegation does not feel quite as credible after that pugnacious performance.

The United players and staff were greeted with a chorus of "Oh United, we love you" as they approached the away end at full-time. There was a lot to love for those in the first tier of the Anfield Road End.

The benefit of a rare six-day gap between matches was evident in a dogged and diligent effort. That will give Amorim hope ahead of next Sunday's FA Cup third round tie at Arsenal. That tie no longer appears as daunting