Gary Neville could not hide his disappointment after Harry Maguire squandered a huge chance to secure Manchester United the most unlikely of victories against Premier League leaders Liverpool.
The game came to life after a goalless, albeit entertaining, first half between the two bitter rivals, as Cody Gakpo cancelled out Lisandro Martinez’s stunning opener with a superb strike of his own at Anfield.
Mohamed Salah converted from the spot to make it all square with 20 minutes remaining on Merseyside, only for the momentum to swing once again as Amad Diallo equalised to set up a thrilling finish.
The two teams could not be separated after 90 minutes, though, and Maguire will be ruing his missed opportunity at the death, with the unmarked defender somehow firing over from near point-blank range.
Replays appeared to show the ball from Joshua Zirkzee bobbling awkwardly before Maguire made contact but Neville, providing commentary for Sky Sports, could hardly believe what he had seen.
‘Oh, my god! I can’t believe it,’ the former United and England right-back said.
‘It may just be offside but Harry Maguire wasn’t to know that. It’s bobbled into him, to be fair, he’s got a bit of work to do to control it, it’s halfway up his shin and that’s it.’
Providing his analysis of the 2-2 draw, Neville added: ‘It was a fantastic match. There have been some disappointments over the years, I think four goalless draws in the last eight between these two.
‘Roy Keane, before the game, asked for Manchester United to show some passion at the very least today and they did that in abundance.
‘They were spirited but they also played with real quality. I think they deserve more than the 2-2. Harry Maguire, what a chance to win it..
‘Liverpool are still in a great position for the title. It’s been a proper match.’
Keane, speaking from the Sky Sports studio, said it would have been ‘amazing’ had Maguire taken his chance.
But the legendary former United captain was pleased with the team’s ‘spirited’ performance, which came after four straight defeats in all competitions.
‘Listen, that would have been amazing if they could have won it at the end but what they did was show plenty of fighting spirit,’ Keane said.
‘That’s what I asked for at the start of the game and the bonus was the quality of play, to score two goals, they nearly won it at the end.’
Keane added: ‘But listen, well done Manchester United and credit to both teams at the end.
‘Both teams wanted to win it, nobody parking the bus at the end, two big clubs going at it. I think it was a fair result.’