A quick glance into the "how many points from the next 5 games" thread, sums up the general mindset of our posters before the kickoff. Either a lucky draw or an undeserving loss. I think I would have given it the same. But I was literally 10 minutes close to being proven wrong.
To me, this was more about the way the team gelled together, the way Klopp set up the team in view of unavailability of players and the way our team is slowly maturing in terms of quality. We now have players on the bench/team who can replace an outgoing first team player, go to Old Trafford and come back with a point, having led the game for 84 minutes. And all this with an 18-year-old fullback making his league debut, playing against one of the fastest players in the league. And the equaliser wasn't a lousy backpass (I am watching you Dejan!) or an idiotic set piece or a penalty due to a handball or a "Mignolet should be saving it" moment.
The performance was itself not classic by any means. It was painful at times to watch both teams attack by bypassing the midfield, only to be cleared by the opposition defence. But we should be giving our team a little bit more credit than some posts here. We started the game with 4 of our first team players missing. And with United playing a full strength team, it only makes our performance look even more polished and gutsy. The result was what we aimed for before the start. We feel sad about it because we feel robbed of the 2 points by decisions beyond our control. A dubious offside decision plus the 3/4 instances where United players could have been booked/sent off. I won't complain about the result.
We have some games coming up that have proven to be a thorn early on (cough West Ham, Sunderland, Bournemouth, Burnley & Southampton!) and I think if we were to play with the same rigour and steel, we can definitely aim for the top spot.
