Through the first two rounds of Premier League fixtures, there had been no case for Manchester United's defence. At Old Trafford on Monday, Liverpool's went completely missing.
A week is a long time in football, to use the most fatigued of tired cliches. United had just over a week to stew over their 4-0 humbling at Brentford, during which there was no shortage of talk about another prospective hammering from Jurgen Klopp's consistently merciless Reds.
Yet after United pressed and harried their way to a surprise 2-1 win in front of a raucous home crowd whipped up by the latest round of protests against the Glazer family's ownership of the club, it will surely be Liverpool who has to face headlines pointing to a crisis among a group of players who have set such remarkable standards in the recent years of Klopp's tenure.
It would be an exaggeration to label Liverpool as a team in crisis – they were without nine first-team players for this derby – but, as the persistent squabbles between Virgil van Dijk and James Milner illustrated, there are certainly problems to fix at the back.
Though the focus may have been on their public disagreements, the first of which came after Jadon Sancho produced composure that has been largely lacking since his move from Borussia Dortmund to put United 1-0 up in the 16th minute, in the aftermath of this game there is more likely to be scrutiny on the performance of the defender to Van Dijk's right.
While Van Dijk was partly at fault for the opener after failing to close down Sancho, it was a goal that was a direct consequence of the frequent success United enjoyed when attacking Trent Alexander-Arnold.
To blame in part for the first goal, Alexander-Arnold was tormented by Anthony Elanga in the first half and had a similarly torrid time when Marcus Rashford switched to the left flank for the second. It was Rashford who doubled United's lead, ending a run of 997 minutes without a goal in all competitions for United by coolly finishing after a counter-attack with Alexander-Arnold conspicuous by his absence.
Alexander-Arnold, regularly maligned for his defensive deficiencies, conceded two fouls and lost possession a game-high 24 times in a performance to swiftly banish from the memory.
Yet to point the finger squarely at him would be to ignore the struggles of those in front of him. Milner, who won under half of his 16 duels, and Jordan Henderson offered little in the way of control or protection for the Liverpool backline. Both were eventually withdrawn in the second half, injury robbing Klopp of the opportunity to introduce a clearly desperately needed Thiago Alcantara.
To focus on Alexander-Arnold and Liverpool's failings would also do a disservice to the impressive nature of United's display.
Scott McTominay, with Casemiro, his new team-mate in the engine room, watching on, was sublime in midfield, his 10th-minute through ball for Bruno Fernandes deserving of a goal that the right-hand post denied Elanga.
Fernandes, forlorn in the two opening defeats, had nine final-third entries, more than any other United player. Rashford, meanwhile, was a player rejuvenated, recording five of United's 12 shots.
At the back, Lisandro Martinez brushed off jokes and questions about his diminutive stature to deliver an all-action showing that featured three blocks, including one clearance off the line to prevent a Fernandes own goal, while left-back Tyrell Malacia's five tackles were the most of any player.
For all the standout displays, United could not stop Mohamed Salah from fraying the nerves with a header after David de Gea denied Fabio Carvalho.
Yet the fact United did not allow that setback to spark a collapse is testament to the speedy turnaround Erik ten Hag – who became the first Red Devils boss to secure his maiden competitive win against Liverpool – engineered in the wake of their meek surrender at Brentford.
Klopp will almost certainly dismiss any crisis talk about a team who suffered their first defeat in 22 Premier League games and have failed to win their first three Premier League games for the first time since 2012-13. However, after seeing his side concede the first goal for the seventh successive league fixture and fail to recover, Klopp must find solutions that have the same impact of those Ten Hag discovered in the compelling latest chapter of this great rivalry.
Lukaku among five withdrawals from Belgium squad
Romelu Lukaku has joined four other players in withdrawing from the Belgium squad due to injury ahead of Monday's Nations League finale against Israel.
Belgium sit third in Nations League Group A2 following their 1-0 defeat to Italy on Thursday, a result that ended their hopes of reaching next year's quarter-finals.
They are simply playing to avoid automatic relegation when they face Israel behind closed doors in Hungary, with a draw enough to send the Red Devils through to a play-off against a third-placed finisher from League B.
Napoli striker Lukaku – Belgium's all-time leading scorer with 85 goals in 120 caps – has joined Aston Villa's Amadou Onana, Chelsea's Romeo Lavia, Arthur Theate of Eintracht Frankfurt and Brugge's Maxim De Cuyper in dropping out with unspecified issues.
Manchester City star Kevin De Bruyne had already asked not to be included in Domenico Tedesco's party as he works his way back to full fitness after suffering a thigh injury.
Sebastiaan Bornauw, Koni De Winter, Jeremy Doku and Youri Tielemans were also left out of Tedesco's squad due to fitness concerns, while uncapped Coventry City striker Norman Bassette has now been called up as cover.
Haiti secure League A promotion, Gold Cup spot with 8-0 win over Sint Marteen; Grenada, Curacao, Puerto Rico also victorious in League B
Haiti extended their unbeaten run in the Concacaf Nations League as they secured top spot in Group C of League B when they hammered Sint Marteen 8-0 Friday.
That win earned Haiti promotion to League A and, by extension, secured their participation in next year’s Concacaf Gold Cup.
Meanwhile, the race in Group B took a twist as Grenada defeated leaders Saint Lucia, while Curacao earned a victory to jump into the number one spot.
Saint Lucia vs. Grenada
Grenada knocked Saint Lucia out of the top spot in Group B with a 4-0 victory at the Ergilio Hato Stadium in Willemstad, Curacao.
After playing out a goalless first half, Grenada eventually broke the deadlock in the 50th through Jermaine Francis’ header.
Regan Charles-Cook doubled the lead six minutes later with a firm finish from deep inside the 18-yard box.
Trevon Williams added a third in the 74th, before Myles Hippolyte struck a blazing left-footed shot from the edge of the box in the 86th to cap Grenada’s win.
With the victory, Grenada moved to seven points and assured itself at least a third-place finish to avoid relegation. Saint Lucia dropped to second place on nine points, one point behind Curacao, on 10 points.
Saint Martin vs. Curaçao
Curacao registered a 5-0 rout of Saint Martin in the feature game at the Ergilio Hato Stadium in Willemstad.
Jearl Margaritha stole the show by scoring four goals, two in each half, in commanding fashion.
His first came in the 24th as he used good footwork to lose defenders and blast the opener.
He added a second 10 minutes later, when he pulled off an excellent backheel flick to put Curacao 2-0 up at the break.
In the 54th, Margaritha sprinted into the box and ripped a loose ball for his hat trick.
Juninho Bacuna scored a penalty kick in the 78th, before Margaritha finished off his outstanding performance with another tidy finish in the 80th.
With one point separating them, Curacao and Saint Lucia will lock horns in an intriguing clash to determine the group winners on Monday.
Sint Maarten vs. Haiti
A hat-trick from Frantzdy Pierrot and a Duckens Nazon brace laid the platform for Haiti’s 8-0 beating of Sint Maarten at Estadio Centroamericano de Mayagüez in Mayagüez in Puerto Rico.
It was Attys Christopher who fired home as Haiti made the most of a corner kick.
Pierrot struck a double blow in the 14th and 25th, with Markhus Lacroix adding a fourth in between in the 19th.
The onslaught continued in the second half as Haiti tallied three more goals in rapid fashion. Nazon struck in the 49th and 58th as Pierrot completed his hat trick in the 52nd.
Mondy Prunier capped the win with a 67th-minute strike.
Haiti, has now scored 26 goals in five matches. They will play second-placed Puerto Rico, who defeated Aruba 5-1 on Monday.
Puerto Rico remains in the hunt for a Gold Cup preliminary spot as one of the best runners-up.
Sint Maarten has been relegated.
Kane club versus country comments 'just a reminder' to England withdrawals
Harry Kane says his comments on club versus country got more attention than he expected and were "just a reminder" to his team-mates instead of a criticism.
England suffered nine injury withdrawals after Lee Carsley's squad was announced, with Kane seemingly questioning the commitment of those who dropped out, saying "England comes before everything".
Despite their many absences, a young England side recorded a 3-0 win over Greece on Thursday to send them top of their Nations League group.
However, the Three Lions have since seen a 10th withdrawal from the squad, with Ezri Konsa returning to Aston Villa after going off with a hip complaint in that game.
Speaking for the first time since that interview, Kane explained he was keen to preserve the team culture Gareth Southgate fostered by using these international breaks effectively.
"All the players try and give their best whenever they come with England. I know it's a really tough stage of the season," he said in a press conference.
"Whoever is in the squad is the most important thing. Whatever we have here is all we can work with.
"Going forward there are always going to be injuries, it is just whoever is with the squad is ready to make a difference."
On the attention his comments got, Kane added: "I didn't expect it to get as much coverage as it did. The November camp has always been difficult - you're in the heart of a lot of games.
"So, it's just my opinion that it is really important after a major championship, where September, October, November camps are really important in a year ahead to the World Cup.
"These are the camps as well where you build that culture and that togetherness that lead you into a World Cup. It was just a reminder that it's really, really special to play for England."
Kane started the match against Greece on the bench, with Ollie Watkins leading the line in his place. The Villa forward scored seven minutes in, before being replaced by the England captain in the 66th minute.
Interim boss Carsley, who is taking charge of his final game before Thomas Tuchel takes over on January 1, confirmed that Kane would be back in the starting line-up against the Republic of Ireland on Sunday.
"Yes, he is definitely playing," Carsley said.
"With Harry Kane, you always think goals, but he brings a lot more to the squad and the team than that. His leadership skills, he's a good guy, which is really important as well.
"The example he sets to the younger players, he's a crucial part of the England team and also moving forward."
England and Greece are both level on 12 points after five games, but the former have a better head-to-head goal difference, so a win over Ireland would see them promoted back to League A.
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