Goalkeeper Loris Karius believes Liverpool's growing reputation under Jurgen Klopp explains why Manchester United played so defensively against them.
The 0-0 draw at Anfield was memorable only for two second-half David De Gea saves as Jose Mourinho set up his side to frustrate.
Klopp's preference for a high-tempo game, which this season has started to click into gear, never got into its stride and it was a disjointed performance as the visitors' gameplan worked to perfection despite having only 35 percent possession.
"They know we're a really strong team, so that's a compliment for us,'' said the German, who kept his first clean sheet since taking over from Simon Mignolet. "United maybe waited for the one chance to get a goal, as obviously their priority was to stop our play, our attacks.
"We knew we had to be patient because it was going to be tough. Second half we managed better to get through but United defended well with De Gea making top saves.''
Midfielder Emre Can, making his first Premier League start of the season, felt Liverpool deserved more than a point from the game but accepted a side of their quality has to test opponents more.
"I think we deserved to win the game because we had the better chances and played better,'' he told the official site. "It wasn't our best game but we played better than Manchester United.
"We didn't keep the ball too well. We have to do it better in the next game. We will learn.''