Ruben Amorim has lift-off but Liverpool's title defence is totally off the rails: Winners and losers as Arne Slot and Reds superstars face serious questions while Man Utd finally look like top-four challengers

United fans' continued backing for Amorim has been the source of much interest for pundits while their song dedicated to the manager, in which they claim 'He'll turn the Reds around', has been mocked by rival fans. But the 3,000 visiting supporters in the lower tier of the Anfield Road End, many of whom stayed long after the full-time whistle, could at last bellow out their tune in honour of their coach with pride.

Even if his reign ends prematurely without putting United back on their perch, Amorim will be remembered for being the manager to oversee a first win at Anfield in almost a decade, doing what Jose Mourinho, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Ralf Rangnick and Erik ten Hag all failed to do. Yet as important is it always is to beat eternal rivals, the performance spoke even louder.

United were fully concentrated, they did not wilt when their backs were against the wall and they managed to retain their confidence and composure after conceding a goal that could have completely sunk them.

Amorim also got the big decisions right. The coach sprung a surprise by deploying Matheus Cunha as a false nine, but the move paid off as the Brazilian linked the play and made United more fluid in possession rather than trying to hit a target man. He was also rewarded for starting Maguire over Leny Yoro, something he was fiercely criticised for doing in the recent defeat at Brentford. 

The big question is whether United can seize the momentum of back-to-back wins and beat Brighton at home next time out having lost their last three matches against the Seagulls at Old Trafford. But that is also a question for next weekend; this was a day to savour and to drink it in.

Liverpool's starting front line featured the Premier League's most expensive player in Alexander Isak and one of its best players ever in Mohamed Salah. In the second half, they were able to bring on the second and the 10th-most expensive signings in the league's history in Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike, worth a combined £200 million ($268m). But none of them could help the Reds avoid a first home league defeat in more than a year.

Liverpool have arguably the most spectacular attack in the world on paper, but their new cast of Galacticos is yet to click. Isak is still waiting for his first Premier League goal for the club following his £125m move from Newcastle, and he missed a good chance to score on Sunday when presented with a one-on-one with Senne Lammens, who thwarted the Swede with his right foot. Isak still seems to be lacking sharpness and fitness, a predictable consequence of forgoing pre-season training after going on strike at Newcastle, though he also seems to be lacking confidence.

He was by no means alone in not stepping up. Salah lives for this fixture normally, having scored 16 goals and setting up a further six against United in his eight previous seasons with the Reds. He missed a gilt-edged chance to equalise this time, though, firing wide from point-blank range with just Lammens to beat.

Ekitike did look a threat when he came on and he will rightly feel he deserved to start over Isak as he has already proven himself in his short time at the club, but the same could not be said for Wirtz, who made zero impact from the bench and has no goals or assists to show in any competitions since his £116m arrival from Bayer Leverkusen.

The last time Maguire played at Anfield he was left cursing the fact he had missed an open goal and passed up the chance to snatch that long-awaited win on enemy territory when he spooned a Joshua Zirkzee lay-off over the bar in stoppage time. But football often gives you second chances, and this time Maguire did not waste his, getting his forehead on Bruno Fernandes' cross to kick Liverpool just as their tails were up following Gakpo's equaliser.

It was Maguire's 17th goal in seven seasons at United and his fifth under Amorim. He continues to be a crucial weapon for the Portuguese, routinely popping up in the right place and the right time to save the coach's blushes. Late goals are his speciality, although by his standards his 85th-minute winner here was early. His recent cup goals against Leicester City and Grimsby Town came in added time, while his miraculous winner against Lyon arrived in added time of extra-time. The only time Maguire has scored under Amorim before the 85th minute was against Ipswich Town in February, when he helped 10-man United to victory.

It was fitting that Maguire should be the player to end United's seemingly eternal wait to win at Anfield as he is a symbol of endurance and of overcoming adversity. "Harry Maguire is really important for us and was today," said Amorim. "He is a great example, everything he has been through, a great example for every kid."

Slot was bullish after the defeat, claiming his side had performed much better than United and seemingly blamed his players for failing to take more than one of their many chances. But he cannot hide from the fact that his side have lost four successive matches for the first time in 11 years, when Brendan Rodgers was in charge.

Slot ultimately feels that his team are just lacking a bit of luck, but he is also aware of the fact that this run of negative results does not reflect well on how his team are playing. "If you lose four times in a row you have to have concerns, but we know if we keep bringing these types of performances then we will have a fair chance of winning more football games," he said. "If we do a few things better then we will have an even better chance, but you are never 100 per cent sure if in the next game you are again able to create eight, nine, 10 open chances."

But it is not just missed chances that should concern the Liverpool boss. The Reds have conceded five goals from set-pieces in eight Premier League games this season (they did not concede any in the first eight games of last season), and while it is true Liverpool had more and better chances on Sunday, they also gave United their share of opportunities in the first half, when Fernandes above all should have doubled the Red Devils' advantage.

"If you look at the signings Liverpool have brought in, the full-backs are quite small so there's no real great physical presence," said a worried Jamie Carragher on Sky Sports. "Set-piece wise, is the team big enough? It looks like they are not coping very well with set-pieces and are struggling with the style of the Premier League right now.

"I don't think it's one glaring problem, it's lots of things. Some of their best players from last season are not at the same levels and it's not quite happening for Liverpool now. They felt invincible last season, now as soon as someone beat them they have lost four in a row. With Liverpool sometimes there is a mindset of not wanting to do the dirty work."

The scorer of the winning goal would normally be the centre of all attention after any win at Anfield, but when the whistle went United's players went to congratulate one player first of all: Senne Lammens. Maguire, Yoro and Diogo Dalot all embraced the young Belgian, who was only appearing in his second game for the club but performed like a veteran who had been playing amid this cauldron of noise for many years.

Lammens made five saves, although this was not exactly a goalkeeping masterclass of the type produced by Edwin van der Sar or David de Gea at Anfield in years gone by. Lammens did well to thwart Isak with his foot and took the sting out of a second-half strike from Curtis Jones, but overall he was not asked to make any world-beating saves. What he did do was transmit confidence to his fellow defenders, giving them the security that he was not going to spill a shot or misjudge the flight of a cross as Andre Onana and Altay Bayindir have done all too often over the past two seasons.

"He was really important and then sometimes it is a little bit luck," Amorim said of his goalkeeper. "Two shots on the post, that can change the narrative. But he showed a lot of character, a lot of quality."

When Liverpool beat Everton last month on the same weekend that Arsenal drew 1-1 with Manchester City, some wanted to coronate the Reds there and then and end the title race already. Slot's side were five points ahead of Arsenal, who they had beaten two games before, while City were eight points off the pace. The trophy would not need to do any travelling for another year, so went the popular discourse.

But three match days can be a long time in football and Liverpool's title defence has since veered off course. That five-point lead is now a four-point deficit to the Gunners and three to City as both have gone on a rampage of wins since their dramatic draw. Bournemouth, meanwhile, are now level on points with Liverpool in third, while United are suddenly only two points behind their great rivals.

A lot can change in the next few weeks and the Reds will have the chance to reassert their title claim when they face City on November 9. But having lead from the front last season, they now have some catching up to do, and they will need to dig their heels in and fight.

Arsenal have developed a knack of grinding out results thanks to their resilient defence and their set-piece wizardry, which helped them beat Fulham. City, meanwhile, have a superhuman striker in Erling Haaland who can win matches by himself. Liverpool's identity, however, is in shambles right now.