Residing over his 250th League game in charge of Liverpool, Dalglish decided to make only one change to the side that secured a 2-0 victory in the Merseyside derby last time out. Despite netting his first Premier League goal of the campaign versus Everton, Andy Carroll was replaced in the starting eleven by Steven Gerrard, who made his first start since suffering a groin injury in the corresponding fixture last March.
The hosts were firmly in the ascendancy during the opening exchanges, however the first chance of any note fell to United after 16 minutes when the overlapping Evra crossed to Phil Jones at the back post. Thankfully the 19-year old could only head into the side netting when well placed.
The Reds responded with a short corner routine between Gerrard and Adam ending in the number eight's cross threateningly travelling across the goalmouth, before the in-form Luis Suarez audaciously attempted to lob De Gea from all of 40 yards. Unfortunately the Uruguayan failed to trouble the former Athletico Madrid stopper.
Goalscoring chances remained few and far between though, with both sides adopting a seemingly negative approach. United started Welbeck on his own up front and centre back Phil Jones in midfield in a clear statement of intent to constrain their opponents. Meanwhile, Suarez ploughed a lone furrow up front for Liverpool as the midfield struggled to break down the away side's determined resistance to support him and the diminutive number seven lacked the physical prowess that Carroll possesses to hold the ball up.
Both sides were cancelling each other out and it wasn't until ten minutes before the break that a genuine goalscoring opportunity arrived. A timely intervention from Martin Kelly began the move, before Charlie Adam escaped the attention of Jones and found space to shoot against the legs of Evans. Suarez, determined to extend his goalscoring streak, latched on to the loose ball and shimmied past Evans before wasting a glorious opportunity by disappointingly shooting straight at De Gea.
Fletcher's shot hit the hoardings, Skrtel's nose bled as he ran fully 70 yards into United's half and Lucas and Jones had a nasty clash of heads off the ball, however the teams went in at the interval still searching for that elusive opening goal to really bring the match to life.
Only three minutes into the second period United were given a soft free kick in an inviting position on the edge of the box after Ashley Young had ran into Lucas, who could do little to avoid the collision. Reina, who became only the sixth player in Liverpool history to appear in 160 consecutive League games, was uncharacteristically sloppy in dealing with the shot, as he spilt the ball onto his knee and breathed a sigh of relief as it ran to safety.
Kuyt and the Kop then screamed for a penalty in unison after the Dutchman's header appeared to be handled by the underperforming Jonny Evans in the box. Unfortunately referee Andre Marriner didn't see the offence; although awarding a spot kick may have been a bit harsh considering Evans was arguably moving his hand down in an attempt to avoid the ball.
Moments prior the hour mark Henderson, who was highly influential in the closing stages, replaced Brazilian teammate Lucas Leiva. The turning point arrived shortly after as, in a similar manner to the build up for Suarez's gilt-edged first half chance, Adam and Kelly played a neat one-two before the former Blackpool playmaker strode confidently beyond several attempted tackles.
Minimal contact with Ferdinand sent Adam tumbling on the edge of the box and earned the Reds a well-placed set piece. Many complained bitterly because Ferdinand was not shown a second yellow but, considering the theatrical nature of Adam's fall following a tiny touch from the England international, Kopites had little to moan about. Skipper Steven Gerrard stood up and all too easily side-footed the ball through the breaking wall and into the net in a manner reminiscent of his goal at Old Trafford last season.
An unexpected schoolboy error from the vastly experienced Ryan Giggs and Suarez's dancing to distract De Gea clearly contributed to Gerrard breaking the deadlock, however he couldn't have cared less as he sped off to celebrate Liverpool's 1200th Premier League goal in front of an ecstatic Kop.
Alex Ferguson had left his big guns on the bench and soon after the goal he decided to employ them, sending Nani, Rooney and Hernandez on for Park, Young and Jones respectively. The move paid instant dividends as two of those substitutes combined to equalise for the Red Devils. Nani's left wing corner skimmed the head of Welbeck and reached Hernandez, who'd escaped the attention of Skrtel, at the back post. The 23-year old Mexican headed beyond Reina from close range to seemingly secure a point for the visitors.
There was still time for a winner though and the Merseysiders pushed the hardest to clinch all three points. Kuyt had a chance to immediately restore our lead however De Gea made a good save to deny the number 18 after he'd stretched to reach Downing's fantastic left wing cross. Henderson also went close twice and showed signs of quality that should quieten his critics. First, his tremendous lobbed effort forced De Gea to acrobatically tip the ball over the bar, before his flicked header landed agonisignly on the roof of the net.
Post-match allegations that Luis Suarez aimed racial abuse at Patrice Evra marred what was an otherwise encouraging day overall for Dalglish's men.
Steven Gerrard is finally back fully fit and firing, claiming the man of the match award for yesterday's display. Charlie Adam showed his quality with several surges forward from the heart of midfield. Jordan Henderson performed excellently for the final half hour and, sloppy defending at the set piece that led to the equaliser aside, the back four were solid throughout.
Moreover, we controlled the Champions for most of the match and, although we perhaps should have nicked a late victory, the fact that we are disappointed at only collecting a point against Manchester United demonstrates how markedly we have improved since Dalglish's return in January.
Four points from fixtures against Everton and Manchester United is certainly satisfactory. Next up in the League are Norwich, West Brom and Swansea. Nine points are a must from those three matches and, should they be collected, we will be sitting in a good position heading into more challenging clashes with Chelsea and Manchester City.
YNWA
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