Darwin Núñez hit another memorable Liverpool milestone against Manchester United. But Jürgen Klopp’s side undoubtedly missed a big opportunity at Old Trafford.

Liverpool and Arsenal are level on 71 points at the top of the Premier League. Manchester City is just a point behind in what could be the most fascinating title run-in we have ever seen.

But it should be an even better position that Liverpool finds itself in.

Jürgen Klopp’s side missed chance after chance against Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday and it is the kind of result that will offer plenty of hope to Pep Guardiola and Mikel Arteta ahead of the final seven fixtures.

Liverpool forward Darwin Núñez got another assist against Manchester United. (Image: Photo by PAUL ELLIS/AFP via Getty Images)

Before the season is finished, Liverpool will play Crystal Palace, Fulham, Everton, West Ham, Spurs, Aston Villa and Wolves. Realistically, it will need to win all of those matches. Do that, and it will end the campaign on 92 points and it would then be relying on Arsenal either dropping some or a goal difference advantage — currently standing at nine goals — to be overturned.

It is possible that the goal difference could swap around but the Reds will need to be a lot more clinical if that is to be the case. Their best hope, really, is that the Gunners don’t win every game and they do. Here’s what Liverpool.com learned at Old Trafford and what you might have missed.

One thing we learned
Manchester United will not win anything playing like that; as Gary Neville succinctly put it, its midfield formation was ‘mental’. But it has stopped Liverpool from going two points clear at the top of the Premier League table. In some ways, given the gap to the Champions League spots, that is the best that the Old Trafford side could have hoped for — but that in itself speaks volumes.

If Erik ten Hag feels that these tactics are the way forward then he will not transform Manchester United from an inconsistent and frankly bemusing side into a league title-winning one. But that was not on the agenda on Sunday. Liverpool winning the league to send Klopp off in the best possible way was, and is now a little bit less likely than it was on Friday.

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Biggest takeaway
When you go to Old Trafford, even when Manchester United is as poor as it is at the moment, you still have to take your chances. If you don’t there will be a spell at some point where everything can go wrong. Liverpool could have won by four or five had it gone a second goal ahead — instead, it ended up dropping a couple of points when it shouldn’t have.

Liverpool had 62 shots in total during its two Premier League matches against Manchester United this season (28 here after 34 at Anfield). No side has ever had more against a single opponent in a season since Opta started collecting data. Including the FA Cup game, it is a total of 87 shots this season that Liverpool has had against Manchester United in 2023/24 — and it failed to win even once.

It is incredibly weird that a team with such attacking firepower could be so wasteful in front of goal. Mohamed Salah took his high-stakes penalty very well but he and his fellow forwards missed a huge number of chances. Luis Díaz, Darwin Núñez and Dominik Szoboszlai were all guilty, at times looking as if they were just expecting to have another opportunity to score a minute later.

A moment you might have missed
While Núñez didn’t score, he did at least assist. He now has 13 goals and 18 assists this season in all competitions. Only four Liverpool players have hit those numbers on both fronts in a single season in the Premier League era (1992 to now): Steven Gerrard, Luis Suárez, Roberto Firmino and, obviously, Salah. On a frustrating day for the Liverpool attack and for the 24-year-old, that shouldn’t go unnoticed, even if he should have even more to his name.

Manchester United supporters reveled in Klopp not winning and taking another step towards a possible Premier League title, but it has been a while now since opposition fans dared to sing about Núñez. Perhaps they are learning at last, though it remains to be seen if the ‘You’re just a s**t Andy Carroll’ chant really has been retired.

It should have been. Núñez has simultaneously made a mockery of the doubters this season with his numbers and also missed enough chances to think that he could double them if it just all clicks into gear. Whichever way it goes from here — or if his trajectory is unaltered — the Uruguayan is certainly a lot better than Carroll. The silenced Premier League crowds who no longer attempt to tease him might finally realize it.