Considering the form with which Liverpool and Manchester United entered Sunday's showdown at Old Trafford, the highly anticipated match could have gone in plenty of directions. It could have shown Liverpool to perhaps not be as sound as its record might indicate. It could have shown that Man United did indeed turn a corner, and that the second half of Wednesday's dramatic defeat of Atalanta in the Champions League was more emblematic of where it stood as opposed to the first half.
Instead, it confirmed what's largely been becoming more clear and clear: Liverpool is all the contender it is hoping to be, with the world's most in-form player as its driving force, while Man United is a flawed side whose manager doesn't look likely to make it beyond November, if ownership is at all placing an emphasis on performance and results.