And it was just the one: ''We can deal with anything you've got.'' Ahead of the game, some fans, including yours truly was unnerved by what a high energy pressing Jurgen Klopp team could do to a more laborious and ponderous Manchester United team that are still finding their best form.
As such, the popular favourite to emerge as victors on Sky's prime football slot, Monday Night was Liverpool. For United, this wasn't just about a trial for three points--manager Jose Mourinho also had his credentials on trial amid suggestions that he has peaked as a manager and is therefore behind the times of modern day football management. Lose, and it wasn't just United's title ambitions that were going to take a major hit.
What was lost in all the build up was that these are the type of situations that Jose has had to put up with all his career. Indeed, you can take a pick from a myriad of Category-A matches across his career in which his genius has been on trial, either owing for style of play or simply for the top prizes. Some might say he relishes an opportunity to prove everybody else wrong because of a desire to make things seen from his point of view.
We shouldn't therefore be surprised that last night after the game, he was intent on pointing it out to everyone that Liverpool are not quite the attacking force the media has made them out to be. Whilst that will do little to change opinions about Klopp's attack, you could easily tell Jose's drift. He was not about to play along and allow the home side the freedom of Merseyside on the pitch to blitz his team away. The ramifications to his team and his person would have been damaging in the extreme.
As such, the boss sent out no less than six players towering over 6 ft, in a bid to cast a shadow over the lesser built Liverpool players. United killed the home side's midfield joy that has formed a foundation of their attacks. With Jose, winning the midfield battle is existential to more than half the job being done. So he asked, to many's shock, Fellaini to sit deep with Ander Herrera and push Pogba forward, albeit in the mould of a high-end shield to his midfield rather than a point of attack.
In the end, it reflected well on the Portuguese that he could tactically achieve his aim in a top end fixture. The argument has been that Jose has struggled to build United in his image. Perhaps the question is what do people actually think that image is?__Because if that structural organisation last night bares no resemblance to a Mourinho team, then I doubt there is even such a thing as a ''Mourinho team''.
The obvious difference between what we saw last night and a fully developed Mourinho team is that United are not quite as cute with the ball in administering effective counter-attacks. United's use of possession remains below par with plenty of players not as sharp and neat in possession. As such, what is usually left of the team when it lines up that way a functional resilient side. The solution remains to include Juan Mata in the mix to help the side keep the ball more and open up defences but that is the last direction Jose will look to away from home in an A-list fixture.
Ultimately, United's chief aim was to come away from one of the most difficult venues they shall visit this season without defeat. Whilst the result means that the tea has not taken advantage of the dropped points by the table leaders, United are also no worse today than they started the weekend. That said, it is imperative that Jose seeks to achieve more than a truce when he takes his side to his old stomping ground on Sunday.
At least he gets to prepare for that with the satisfaction that he has made the point he wanted to put across this weekend.