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.
IPL: Fraser-McGurk leads the way as Capitals hold off Mumbai
Delhi Capitals withstood Mumbai Indian’s late surge and held on for a 10-run victory at Arun Jaitley Stadium.
Jake Fraser-McGurk top-scored with 84 – hitting 50 off just 15 balls – while Tristan Stubbs (48) and Shai Hope (41) also chipped in with important contributions as the Capitals set a target of 258.
Mukesh Kumar (3/59) and Rasikh Salam (3/34) did their best to halt Mumbai’s revival, but they turned up the pressure to require 25 runs from the final over.
However, despite Luke Wood and Piyush Chawla’s best efforts, Delhi held out for a second successive win.
Data debrief
Wood almost made amends after conceding 68 runs during the opening innings – the joint-most in the IPL this season, matching Reece Topley’s tally against Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Tilak Varma led Mumbai’s attempted revival with 63 for his sixth half-century in the IPL, though they have all come in defeats
West Ham 2-2 Liverpool: Antonio header damages Reds' dwindling title chances
Liverpool suffered another blow to their dwindling Premier League title hopes as Michail Antonio's late header snatched a 2-2 draw for West Ham at London Stadium.
Jurgen Klopp's side disappointed in Wednesday's 2-0 defeat against Everton, with Jarrod Bowen's goal and assist inflicting further pain for the Reds on Saturday.
Liverpool responded well to Bowen's first-half opener, edging ahead through Alphonse Areola's own goal after Andy Robertson's 48th-minute leveller, only for Bowen to tee up Antonio's headed equaliser 13 minutes from time.
This draw left Liverpool two points behind leaders Arsenal ahead of the Gunners’ Sunday meeting with Tottenham and one behind Manchester City – who have two games in hand on the Reds – while West Ham remain eighth.
A tepid opening befitted two sides struggling for form as both failed to carve out any gilt-edged opportunities.
Liverpool wanted a 27th-minute penalty for Angelo Ogbonna's tackle on Cody Gakpo and, though an offside call against Luis Diaz silenced those appeals, that passage livened the game up.
Harvey Elliott's curling attempt was held by Areola after Vladimir Coufal went close at the other end, before Diaz blasted a low strike against the West Ham goalkeeper's right-hand post.
Bowen saw a deflected drive parried behind by Alisson but the West Ham forward headed Mohammed Kudus' left-wing delivery into the far corner from the resulting set-piece two minutes before the break.
Ryan Gravenberch flashed a powerful half-volley over immediately after the interval – and West Ham did not heed that warning sign.
Diaz cut inside from the left to find Robertson before a slight deflection off Lucas Paqueta saw Areola caught off-guard as the left-back found the bottom-left corner via the post.
Gravenberch arrowed narrowly wide before one-way traffic finally paid dividends midway through the second half when Gakpo's miscued strike from Trent Alexander-Arnold's corner forced Areola to turn into his own net after a deflection off Tomas Soucek.
Alisson kept his side ahead with a remarkable stretching stop to thwart Emerson's volley, yet the Liverpool goalkeeper was powerless when Antonio headed into the top-right corner from Bowen's right-wing centre.
Elliott almost snatched all three points in the 89th minute but his dipping effort found the top of the crossbar rather than the right-hand corner from long range.
Reds falter once again
Under Klopp, Liverpool have only won more Premier League games against Crystal Palace (13) than West Ham (12).
Yet the visiting Reds faltered once more as what appeared to be a promising season continues to unravel in disappointing fashion for Klopp's final campaign.
Having threatened an unlikely quadruple at the start of March, Liverpool now require a minor miracle – and slip-ups from Man City and Arsenal – to muster a slight shot at the title.
Bowen on target but West Ham struggle at home
Bowen had already found the net in the Premier League and EFL Cup against Liverpool this season and became just the second West Ham player to score in three different games with the Reds in a single campaign – after Geoff Hurst in 1964-65.
His well-taken headed opener eased the nervous home crowd, yet this draw left West Ham with just one win from their last nine Premier League home games.
That concerning home form may be what costs David Moyes’ side a higher finish. The Hammers trail seventh-placed Newcastle United by a point, despite the Magpies playing two games fewer.
Swiatek soars into Madrid Open last 16 after dropping just two games against Cirstea
Iga Swiatek stormed through to the Madrid Open last 16 following a dominant straight-sets victory over Sorana Cirstea.
The world number one dropped just two games as she inflicted a comprehensive 6-1 6-1 rout on her Romanian opponent in the Spanish capital.
Swiatek, who was runner-up to Aryna Sabalenka in last year's event, will play Sara Sorribes Tormo in the round of 16 after the Spaniard defeated two-time Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka.
The Pole is now 26-4 for the season, in which she has already triumphed at the Qatar Open and Indian Wells Open, as she eyes the ninth WTA 1000 singles title of her career.
Data debrief
Swiatek is through to her sixth round of 16 from seven main-draw appearances in WTA 1000 events on clay (85.7 per cent) - the highest percentage rate among players with at least five such appearances since the format's introduction in 2009.
The three-time French Open champion also boasts the best WTA match win rate of any player since 2000 on clay (87 per cent). Overall, only Chris Evert (94.5 per cent), Margaret Court (89.5 per cent) and Steffi Graf (89.2 per cent) boast a higher percentage in the Open Era.
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