Manchester United snatch one point after draw against Liverpool

And, speaking to Sky Sports after the game, Mourinho highlighted his side’s inability to combat Liverpool’s midfield trio of Jordan Henderson, Georginio Wijnaldum and Emre Can.

Manchester United coach Jose Mourinho reacts on the sidelines during the English Premier League soccer match between Liverpool and Manchester United at Anfield, Liverpool, England, Saturday, Oct. 14, 2017.

“I think at this stage it would be a brilliant three points for United”.

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has described his team’s 0-0 draw against Liverpool in the Premier League’s early kick-off at Anfield on Saturday as a positive result.

Chances were few and far between in a heavyweight encounter between two Premier League title hopefuls.

United scored just once when away to the Premier League’s top five last season, picking up just two points from a possible 15.

His evidence was the absence of his creative sparks Sadio Mane and Adam Lallana, the knowledge Liverpool would have gone 10 points behind Manchester United after just eight games had they lost and the fact David de Gea made the game’s outstanding save.

“We always try to win games, but today Liverpool played better than us”. At Anfield, Liverpool dominated but were frustrated by a Mourinho side intent on leaving with a clean sheet.

“They’ll have to, they’ll have to make sure they counter attack better”.

“I was waiting for him [Klopp] to break it a bit more, but he didn’t let it break”. Still, a point, in this long marathon?

Asked if a point was his target in the game, Mourinho said: “No, we came for three but in the second half we felt (it was) hard to do that with the match, the dynamic as it was”.

“United came here and wanted a point”. I did that with Chelsea and I did that once with Manchester United and I hope to play there many times more. “Obviously for United it is ok”.

“I was feeling that I need my bench but we had no bench”, added Mourinho. It was not the case, though, and Mourinho’s team did what Mourinho’s teams do: they denied their opponent and emerged with something.

“They had one chance after a corner when we didn’t press the man, but apart from that we had total control, we had the ball at times and when they had the ball they didn’t find a solution”.

“We came for three”, Mourinho responded.

United will be no lower than second after a dispiritingly limited venture that an injury list featuring Paul Pogba and Marouane Fellaini should not excuse.

Mark Ogden is a senior football writer for ESPN FC.