Liverpool were held to a 2-2 draw against Manchester United in the Premier League at Anfield.

Ruben Amorim has admitted he is ‘upset’ Manchester United have not consistently hit the levels they showed in their 2-2 draw against Liverpool.

The Old Trafford side were heavy underdogs heading into the Anfield encounter. Before kick-off, Liverpool topped the Premier League by five points having played two fewer games than second-placed Arsenal. United, on the other hand, were 14th and had lost their previous four matches in all competitions.

But the visitors were full value for a share of the spoils. They took the lead early in the second half through Lisandro Martinez’s thumping strike. The Reds did battle back, with Cody Gakpo equalising before Mo Salah put Arne Slot’s hosts ahead from the penalty spot in the 70th minute.

However, United displayed resolve and were level through Amad Diallo’s strike with 10 minutes remaining. They then had a chance to claim all three points in the final minute of stoppage-time but Harry Maguire blazed over the crossbar.

It has been a difficult period since Amorim was appointed United’s new manager almost two months ago. The Red Devils have come under plenty of scrutiny and Amorim, who joined from Sporting CP, claimed his side were in a relegation battle after a 2-0 loss to Newcastle United.

But Amorim was delighted with the resolve that United showed against Liverpool and wants to see the exact same attitude going forward. The Portuguese said at his post-match press conference: “I want to see my team play so much better but I think the most important thing to address today is the mentality and that is the key for everything. Today we were a different team not because of the system, not because of a technical aspect of the game, the tactical aspect of the game.

"We faced the competition in the way we are supposed to face every day. Training and match, it doesn’t match the place, the opponent, we need to face every day like that. I’m trying to push this team every day. Sometimes it’s maybe not the best way. I am always challenging these players in everything I do. Because I feel we are, not just the players, but everybody at Manchester United is too comfortable. So I think sometimes we need a shock and you can see today we were a different team.

"I am upset today, really upset. I am pleased for the performance but everyone today is going to say that the team did a good job. Today I am allowed to be the only guy upset with the team but today we were a team.

"We had some good games during this last month but then we drop again. It’s something that we need to be really consistent. We had this talk after against City it was the same. We can talk but we need to show and do it and the best thing is tomorrow we have training and we have to maintain the same level of mentality."

Liverpool were awarded a penalty when Matthijs de Ligt was adjudged to have handled in the area. On-field referee Michael Oliver did not originally give the decision before watching the replay on the pitchside monitor after a recommendation from VAR. Salah stepped up and slotted home his 21st goal of the season.

On the penalty decision, Amorim said: “No, I didn’t see the image. It seems like someone touched the ball before touching hand. Focus on the performance. It was a shame because it’s really hard in the moment, when he touched the ball, you change the direction of the ball, was really hard for us. But when we were losing 2-1, you feel we could draw and maybe win the game. You could have snatched it, I think that is clear."