Jurgen Klopp is right about Arsenal beating sloppy Man Utd: Liverpool and Mo Salah lost their killer instinct against bitter rivals - and it will cost them the title

When Liverpool had failed miserably to break down a United side that had parked the bus at Anfield in December, a bitterly frustrated Van Dijk lashed at the visitors' negative tactics. "There was only one team trying to win the game," the Dutchman whined. "We were superior in all aspects, they were hoping to hurt us on the counter and they are buzzing with a point."

It was telling, though, that after Sunday's demoralising draw, Van Dijk acknowledged "It is our fault - again" - because the Reds really have nobody but themselves to blame for thrice failing to beat probably the weakest United of the Premier League era.

Across the two league games, Liverpool averaged 65 percent possession and had 62 attempts on goal (to United's 15) - and yet didn't win either encounter. Whatever about the folly of getting knocked out of the FA Cup quarter-finals by such a flawed and erratic side, dropping four points against a team that haven't taken any off City or Arsenal is utterly unforgivable.

All is not lost, of course. There are still seven rounds remaining and just one point separating the three title-chasers. Harvey Elliott - who once again made a massive impact off the bench, winning the penalty from which Salah levelled matters - accepted in an interview with his club's official website that while Liverpool should have won, they "showed unbelievable fight and courage to come back, to stay level-headed, stay in the game and get the equaliser. We wanted the three points – there's no doubt about that – but a point is better than losing."

There's certainly no disputing that fact. A defeat would have been disastrous and the players should be proud of yet another late rally. Liverpool's resilience really is remarkable. They have claimed more points from losing positions than any other team in this season's Premier League. For that reason alone, they cannot be written off.

Each and every single member of the squad will clearly fight right until the death to win the title - and give Klopp the winning send-off he richly deserves for the remarkable work he has done at Anfield over the past nine years.

Liverpool will also soon be lifted by the return of some key players from injury, including Alisson Becker, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Diogo Jota. Caoimhin Kelleher and Conor Bradley have both done amazing jobs standing in for Alisson and Alexander-Arnold, respectively, but there's no denying that "Jota the slotter" has been sorely missed.

The Portuguese forward is unquestionably the best finisher in Liverpool's squad, so his comeback cannot come soon enough for a team that has missed more big chances than anyone else in the Premier League this season.

Truth be told, it's a wonder that Liverpool are even in such a terrific position to challenge for the title, given the extent of their injury issues and the fact that the midfield was completely overhauled last summer.

However, failing to win the league would still be terribly tough for Liverpool to take, for a variety of reasons. The farcical VAR mix-up at Tottenham remains an open wound, while some major calls went against the Reds in both of their home games against Arsenal and Manchester City.

Again, though, Liverpool had more than enough clear-cut chances to beat both of their title rivals, and the mounting fear is that the Reds are going to end paying a heavy price for their profligacy - particularly against United.

Jarell Quansah's mistake may have completely changed the game - and atmosphere - at Old Trafford, but it should have been over long before then. Liverpool racked up 15 unanswered shots in the first half. Dominik Szoboszlai had four alone and an impressively sweet striker of a ball will probably still be trying to figure out how he managed to miscue his shot so badly after being picked out by Andy Robertson in a central position no more than 10 yards from goal.

Still, while Liverpool are entitled to expect far better from the midfielder, it was Liverpool's forwards who let them down at Old Trafford.

Luis Diaz and Salah were both on target, while Darwin Nunez created the game's opening goal for the former - but all three were guilty of squandering chances and butchering breaks. Salah's form is particularly concerning. He is Liverpool's talisman, so often their saviour, and he showed commendable character in holding his nerve to stick away his late penalty in such high-pressure circumstances.

However, his goal could not mask an otherwise inefficient outing, which came precisely a week after he wasted umpteen chances against Brighton before finally netting the winner (which was followed by an almost apologetic 'celebration' in front of the Kop).

His performance in the midweek win over Sheffield United was even worse, with an almost-anonymous Salah rightly replaced midway through the second half - even though Liverpool were in dire need of a goal.

Salah's recent lengthy lay-off could well be a factor in his erratic finishing. He may just need time to get fully back up to speed, and it would be foolish to doubt a man with such a sensational strike-rate. But Liverpool undoubtedly need Salah firing on all cylinders between now and the end of the season. Diaz, for all his qualities, has yet to prove himself a reliable source of goals, and while the improving Nunez is contributing so much with his all-round forward play, he is the personification of the term 'hit and miss'.

The pressure, then, is now very much on Salah to step up - because Liverpool simply cannot afford another slip-up.

Liverpool obviously have defensive deficiencies, too - one clean sheet in 10 Premier League outings is testament to that fact. This is a team that is prone to lapses in concentration at the back, as so painfully underlined by Quansah's inexplicable error at Old Trafford.

Such mistakes simply have to be eradicated, though, because there is just no more room for error - at either end of the field. Arsenal's form since the turn of the year is sensational and there's a steeliness about Mikel Arteta's men that simply wasn't there last season. As for Manchester City, it's not hard to envisage the champions winning all seven of their remaining matches, given their soft set of fixtures. But can we really say the same about Liverpool?

Klopp's 'mentality monsters' have undoubtedly returned this season and the manager has repeatedly turned games around with his tactical tweaks and substitutions. No matter what the United fans may have felt, Klopp certainly didn't look like he was buckling under the pressure at Old Trafford.

Was he furious with his side's finishing? Absolutely, he made that clear during the first half, but he kept his composure amid all of the chaos caused by United's quickfire double to salvage the situation with another set of game-changing substitutions.

However, while the Reds remain as resilient and relentless as their coach, are they as ruthless as their rivals? The stats suggest otherwise (Liverpool's shot conversion rate is inferior to those of Arsenal and City) - and so too do their results against top teams. As it stands, the Merseysiders have won just one of their eight matches against the other members of the top six.

There is still time to record a home-and-away double over Aston Villa, and gain a modicum of revenge against Spurs at Anfield next month. But there are no more direct clashes with their fellow title challengers and, even more gallingly, the Reds have already blown both of their chances to put United to the sword - and that could be decisive.

After all, City have already taken six points off United this season and, as Klopp acknowledged, Arsenal probably will too, meaning Liverpool's failure to do so really could end up costing them the title. In such a scenario, any manager would be forgiven for cracking up.