Liverpool went back to the top of the Premier League yesterday after being held to a goalless draw at Old Trafford by Manchester United.

As for United, they drop to fifth place behind Arsenal, who beat Southampton 2-0, but manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer won’t be too disheartened by the scoreline given the horrendous disruption his side had to overcome.

Having had Nemanja Matic ruled out before the match with a training ground injury, Solskjaer then lost Ander Herrera, Juan Mata and Jesse Lingard in the first half, while Marcus Rashford also picked up a knock.

“Everything that could have gone wrong in the first half went wrong,” reflected Solskjaer. “We had four injuries - we had to keep Marcus Rashford on - and it seemed like it was going to be a tough afternoon.”

Asked for his assessment of an afternoon that at least saw Liverpool return to the top, Klopp said: “It is a point gained because we have one more than before but it doesn’t feel like that.

“The boys didn’t feel okay. I could see it in their faces. It was strange. I was thinking ‘what is going on here today?’ They lost momentum and rhythm and couldn’t really get it back.”

The worry for Klopp is that this lack of creativity was also evident last Tuesday when the Reds were held to a goalless draw at Anfield by Bayern Munich in their Champions League last-16 first-leg tie.

First-half goals from Alexandre Lacazette and Henrikh Mkhitaryan saw Arsenal home against a Southampton side that had their chances in an entertaining encounter at the Emirates.

Ultimately it didn’t matter as Arsenal climbed back into the top four, and the Saints remain trapped in the relegation zone.

“The most important thing is the three points at home with our supporters,” said Arsenal boss Unai Emery, who once again left Mesut Ozil on the bench. “We are thinking it’s a good step and it’s game by game. Now we are happy, we are at the moment in this position and we carry on.”