Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men started brightly and deservedly broke the deadlock through Scott McTominay, but the home side rallied and equalised through Diogo Jota. Ashley Young was then sent off early in the second half, before Chris Smalling scored an unfortunate and decisive own goal.
The Reds are now placed fifth in the table on 63 points behind the two North London clubs Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur, who both have games in hand to play. It is not an ideal scenario, but mountains are there to be climbed and Solskjaer will rally his troops for the six remaining league matches - not to mention the two-legged Champions League tie against Barcelona which begins next week.