It was far from a thriller at Anfield as rivals Liverpool and Manchester United played out a goalless draw on Monday night.

There was little to no decent opportunities in the first period from either side, with Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Marcus Rashford and Roberto Firmino having only half-chances in a drab 45 minutes.

The second half burst into life in the opening proceedings, with a good chance wasted by Ibrahimovic, but excellent saves from David De Gea saved a point for the Red Devils as he denied Emre Can and Philippe Coutinho.

Little to no opportunities  

The anticipation was high as always for these two bitter rivals to face off once again, but many will have been left disappointed by the side's performances in the first period.

Liverpool looked shaky from the first whistle, which worked to United's advantage, and had the first opportunity.

Paul Pogba had a half-chance from distance, Ibrahimovic tried from a similar distance in the 17th minute. The Swede let rip from 25 yards, with deflection from Joel Matip looking to Loris Karius problems but the German collected easily.

Rashford had failed to really make an impact on the opening minutes, but he did well to to get beyond James Milner on the right and whip in a low cross, but Karius did well to collect with Ibrahimovic lurking.

Arguably the best opportunity of the opening period fell to Jurgen Klopp's side. Skipper Jordan Henderson drilled a ball into the back post which looked perfect for Firmino, but his header was straight at De Gea.

Above: Ander Herrera clashing with Adam Lallana in Manchester United's 0-0 draw with Liverpool | Photo; Getty Images
Above: Ander Herrera clashing with Adam Lallana in Manchester United's 0-0 draw with Liverpool | Photo: Getty Images

Bright start to the half

It look like two different sides had came out for the second period, and both had great chances to break the stalemate.

Pogba had been criticsed for his performance in United's last big game against Manchester City, and had failed to produce much against the Reds.

However the Frenchman provided an excellent piece of magic in 54th minute, producing a succulent ball for Ibrahimovic, but Swede fluffed his lines and put his headed effort well wide of the mark.

​Another player that was having a below-average game was Can, but he had a great chance just before the hour mark.

The German somehow managed to wiggle his way into the United area, and get his shot off despite the pressure from Chris Smalling. De Gea had little to do before that, but the Spaniard did brilliantly to get down low and palm it away from danger.

Saving the points

The home side began to dominate as the clocked ticked on, and looked to have stolen the points, if not for the excellence of De Gea.

It was poor defending from the Red Devils, as they allowed Coutinho the space to shoot, the Brazilian's effort looked to be nestling in the net, but again De Gea was there with his single hand turning it wide.

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About the author
Danial  Kennedy
Award-winning sports journalism graduate. Currently studying a PR Masters at the University of Sunderland. Writing for VAVEL since August 2014. Twitter - @ddkjournalism.