Man United 0-0 Liverpool: Talking points as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer shows pros and cons

Here are the United talking points:

WALKING WOUNDED

United’s overworked physiotherapist’s heat map was glowing magma red by half-time.

But do not mistake three injury enforced changes for hard luck. They represented a litany of naive mistakes.

First, ceaseless Spain midfielder Ander Herrera departed to the dressing room on 21 minutes. Then compatriot Juan Mata followed four minutes later, prior to his substitute Jesse Lingard – rushed back to fitness after he was hauled off against Paris Saint-Germain with a muscular issue – lasting just 18 minutes prior to trudging off.

Rashford also performed on painkillers after an early collision.

A trio of hamstring problems and trio of avoidable replacements. Burnley were the last to suffer such a shameful fate in the Premier League by half-time, against Newcastle United in January 2015.

There was no sign of an inquest, even though Anthony Martial and Lingard departed at the interval on March 13 versus PSG.

Solskjaer was at pains, pre-match, to say the latter could not play 90 minutes – and then thrust him on.

Nemanja Matic was also injured in training on Saturday. He and fatigued midfield partner Herrera have played 1,077 and 918 minutes, respectively, out of 1,170 under Solskjaer’s watch, before this game.

What type of team will United take to Crystal Palace on Wednesday?

The Norwegian’s mid-season impact has been dramatic. This was a public exhibition, however, of the fact he’s still learning on the job.

SOLSKJAER SPIRIT

And now for the positive.

The odds of the fractured and disenchanted squad that Solskjaer inherited gaining this result approach zero.

Predecessor Jose Mourinho signed his own death warrant with the reprehensible 3-1 loss at Anfield in December. The, once, Special One played, what resembled, a shameful 8-1-1 formation then – and came nowhere close to a shut-out.

On Sunday, goalkeeper David De Gea had to face just one shot on target. On Merseyside, it was 11.

Bar wretched starts to both halves from skipper Ashley Young, United’s back-four were near faultless on Sunday. Maybe club legend Nemanja Vidic’s battle cry in the build-up about not wanting to swap Liverpool’s peerless Virgil van Dijk for any resident centre-back wasn’t fatuous, partisan drivel, after all…

They were ably assisted by youngsters Scott McTominay and Andreas Pereira. Plus, a Paul Pogba, who although wasteful in possession, did a job defensively with three interceptions, two tackles and one clearance.

Roared on by a rejuvenated Old Trafford-crowd, United continue to make a steady ascent back to English football’s top table.

DE GEA – THE CENTURION

A landmark achievement risked being lost amid the hoopla that surrounds this fixture.

United’s David De Gea became just the seventh goalkeeper to reach 100 clean sheets in the Premier League. The only shock would have been the ease with which he gained the latest one, against anaemic Liverpool.

The Spaniard’s transformation from spindly, error-strewn replacement for Edwin van der Sar in 2011 until today is mind blowing. It is credit to his reserves of character, plus unquenched desire to learn and improve.

For context, the great Dutchman did not reach the 100 club in 186 top-flight matches for United. Only Peter Schmeichel has also got there for United.

De Gea has taken 264 games to achieve it. Van der Sar, however, had the likes of Vidic, Rio Ferdinand and Patrice Evra guarding him.

His successor has looked forwards to see the likes of Phil Jones and Chris Smalling.

A new contract for De Gea is of equal importance to whomever will be managing him, going into 2019/20 and beyond.