Erik ten Hag insists Man Utd are 'improving' after Liverpool draw - despite giving up another 28 shots - as under-fire manager talks up squad's 'amazing potential'

After Luis Diaz handed the visitors the lead in the 23rd minute, Manchester United staged a brilliant comeback in the second half as Bruno Fernandes and Kobbie Mainoo found the back of the net. A late mistake from Aaron Wan-Bissaka, however, cost United an epic win over their rivals Liverpool as he gave away a penalty, which Mohamed Salah converted. Despite coming so close to victory, though, United were largely outplayed again as they gave up 28 shots to their opponents, which continued a worrying theme.

Despite dropping points from a winning position for the third time in the last week, Ten Hag felt "proud" of his team's performance as he told BBC MOTD after the game: "Very mixed emotions. On one side I am disappointed that we have dropped seven points in one week after being in winning positions, but we have to blame ourselves for making stupid mistakes. On the other side, I am very proud. You see how we are improving and the potential of this squad is amazing - I am proud. In decisive areas, we were losing battles especially with young players we were not confident to win them [duels]. We encouraged them in the second half to do better and they stepped up."

The two points dropped at home will surely hurt the Red Devils, who are slowly drifting away from their target of finishing in the top four and booking a Champions League berth for the next season. They are currently 11 points behind Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa, who are fourth and fifth in the league respectively.

Ten Hag's side will aim to get back to winning ways on Saturday as they are set to face Bournemouth in a difficult Premier League away fixture.