It was the perfect opportunity. One-on-one with Simon Mignolet, after 12 goals in 10 games for his new club, it was a chance that you expect a player in the form of Romelu Lukaku to convert. And yet, he did not. What would be Manchester United's only shot on target of the afternoon had been spurned.

Lukaku's meagre record against the Premier League's 'top six' received much attention before Saturday's drab 0-0 draw at Anfield, which provided the United striker with the ideal platform to start shedding his 'flat track bully' tag.

It was simple. Score and the doubts that remain over Lukaku at the very highest level would start to dissipate. Fail to score and questions would be asked.

Lukaku answered those very questions post-match. “Every time I miss, people put it like this - but a lot of strikers in the league miss bigger chances than me. But with me it’s always: ‘Rom did this, Rom did that’. I don’t know why. With me it [his price tag] is always put out.”

Despite Lukaku's complaints, the criticism is fair. His record against the Premier League's leading clubs is not one worthy of a £75m striker. On Saturday, he was poor - he should have scored with the chance against Mignolet, he struggled to dominate Liverpool's centre-halves, his hold-up play left much to be desired and he played Roberto Firmino onside in the build-up to the hosts' best chance.

Yet to dismiss him as a 'flat track bully' - and thereby cast doubt on his ability to perform well in future meetings with difficult opponents - ignores the context of the game in question and Lukaku's own specific circumstances.

Firstly, due to Jose Mourinho's much-criticised 'big game approach', the team Lukaku was playing in was not set up to his strengths. Mourinho said it himself in his post-match press conference: United's much-criticised game plan was to counter-attack, but only once Liverpool gave them the opportunity to do so. They were ultimately never given that chance in what was, to a man, a very good defensive performance from Jürgen Klopp's side.

Liverpool vs Manchester United player ratings Show all 22 1 /22 Liverpool vs Manchester United player ratings Liverpool vs Manchester United player ratings Loris Karius – 4 out of 10 Didn’t have too much to do but looked nervous when the crosses did come in and his loose pass nearly gave United the lead. Liverpool vs Manchester United player ratings Nathaniel Clyne – 5 out of 10 Couldn’t attack anywhere near as much as he normally likes to and was restricted in what he could contribute. Liverpool vs Manchester United player ratings Joel Matip – 7 out of 10 Had a good battle with Ibrahimovic throughout and probably got the better of the big Swede. Liverpool vs Manchester United player ratings Dejan Lovren – 7 out of 10 Like Matip, did well to keep Ibrahimovic quiet and read the play well. Liverpool vs Manchester United player ratings James Milner – 7 out of 10 Could have had a tough night against Rashford but continued his impressive run at left back. Liverpool vs Manchester United player ratings Jordan Henderson – 5 out of 10 Struggled to get his foot on the ball as he lost the midfield battle to United’s pairing. Liverpool vs Manchester United player ratings Emre Can – 5 out of 10 Much of the play passed him by as it seems he is still lacking match fitness on his first Premier League start of the season. Liverpool vs Manchester United player ratings Sadio Mane – 6 out of 10 Continued to drop deep in hope of making something happen and was probably the liveliest of Liverpool’s attacking players. Liverpool vs Manchester United player ratings Philippe Coutinho – 5 out of 10Philippe Coutinho – 5 out of 10 Looked out of sorts and made uncharacteristic errors with his forward passing and crossing. Liverpool vs Manchester United player ratings Roberto Firmino – 5 out of 10 Similar to Coutinho, he also struggled to find any space between the lines to work in. Liverpool vs Manchester United player ratings Daniel Sturridge – 4 out of 10 Anonymous in the first half and replaced before the hour mark by Lallana. He has now gone 615 minutes without a Premier League goal. Liverpool vs Manchester United player ratings David De Gea – 8 out of 10 Didn’t put a foot wrong and was needed to pull off two world-class saves from Can and Coutinho. Liverpool vs Manchester United player ratings Antonio Valencia – 8 out of 10 Continued his fine start to the season and saved the game for United with a stunning last-ditch challenge. Liverpool vs Manchester United player ratings Chris Smalling – 6 out of 10 Did well to keep Coutinho and co. out but United’s captain for the night was overshadowed by his new centre-back partner. Liverpool vs Manchester United player ratings Eric Bailly – 7 out of 10 A strong and commanding performance by Bailly as he kept Liverpool’s attacking quartet quiet. Liverpool vs Manchester United player ratings Daley Blind – 5 out of 10 Could have been found out with his lack of pace but held his own against the Reds’ pacey attacks. Liverpool vs Manchester United player ratings Marouane Fellaini – 7 out of 10 Helped control the game from midfield and broke up play well alongside Herrera. Liverpool vs Manchester United player ratings Ander Herrera – 8 out of 10 Was the best outfield player of the game. He was dynamic and won possession well on multiple occasions. Liverpool vs Manchester United player ratings Paul Pogba – 5 out of 10 Played in a more advanced role but other than a few neat passes he looked frustrated as he struggled to make anything happen. Liverpool vs Manchester United player ratings Marcus Rashford – 5 out of 10 Didn’t get past Milner as much as he’d have liked but the one time he did he fired in a dangerous cross that Liverpool struggled to deal with. Liverpool vs Manchester United player ratings Ashley Young – 6 out of 10 Did exactly what he was put into the team for. Crossed well and worked back industriously to keep Clyne quiet. Liverpool vs Manchester United player ratings Zlatan Ibrahimovic – 4 out of 10 Cut a frustrated figure up front as he struggled to link with his midfielders amid the pressure from Matip and Lovren.

The result was that Lukaku was left isolated up top, feeding off scraps and with next to no attack-minded team-mates to build moves alongside. His link-up play is an important and unappreciated aspect of his game, but even when Marcus Rashford and Jesse Lingard were introduced and given more license to attack, Liverpool were very effective at shutting down United's few brief moments of inspiration.

Secondly, and crucially, this was Lukaku's first full 90 minutes against one of the top six while playing for one of the top six. The Everton sides and even the West Bromwich Albion side he has previously played under have been capable of causing the leading clubs problems, but they and Lukaku were never expected to take the initiative. It was the same story at Anfield, with United happy to play on the back foot.

When - or maybe if - that approach changes, Lukaku's record against top sides should improve. Are we sure that he will still be drawing blanks when United entertain their 'top six' rivals at home and, presumably, play a less restrictive, more ambitious game? The goals could come away from home too. Last season, he scored at the Etihad, the Emirates and White Hart Lane - three goals in all, two more than the whole of Mourinho's United managed on the same grounds.

That is an improvement on his early days in England and a record that should improve further with more time in a high-quality team and more minutes at an elite level. This is, after all, a player who only made his debut in the Champions League proper last month.