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Anfield bore witness to a mugging.

Those in red sloped away ashen-faced, trying to come to terms with the fact they had ended up with nothing from a contest they had dominated against their most bitter rivals.

This was the ultimate smash and grab raid as Liverpool crashed to a demoralising defeat .

Somehow the worst Manchester United side for decades secured the spoils – despite having just one shot on target and spending most of the afternoon grimly holding on for a point.

Wayne Rooney's emphatic finish 12 minutes from time enabled United to complete a league double over Liverpool for the second successive season.

Jurgen Klopp's first experience of this fixture proved a painful one.

After sampling a contest he had labelled as “the salt in the soup”, the Reds boss was left with the most sour of tastes.

The outcome was cruel. Liverpool didn't deserve to lose. Yet they only had themselves to blame for a setback which effectively kills off any lingering hopes of launching a push for a top-four finish.

The only realistic route into the Champions League now is winning the Europa League and that will only happen if Klopp can quickly address familiar failings at both ends of the field.

25 goals scored is pathetic - and striking department is a mess

United became the latest beneficiaries of Liverpool's embarrassing lack of firepower. Louis van Gaal's side also cashed in on the Reds' inability to defend set-pieces.

The fact that Liverpool's goal difference is minus three in mid-January speaks volumes. Their 22 league games have yielded a pathetic return of just 25 goals.

Liverpool had 19 shots against United but just four of them troubled David De Gea.

It was hardly a surprise given that Liverpool's starting line up boasted a combined tally of just six league goals between them all season.

Klopp inherited a major problem and coming up with a solution has proved problematic.

The reality is that the club's striking department is currently a mess. Danny Ings is out for the season, Divock Origi is sidelined following knee surgery and Daniel Sturridge remains unable to convince the manager he's fit for duty .

The one recognised striker who is available just happens to be the second most expensive signing in Liverpool's history and their top scorer with seven goals this term.

But Christian Benteke faces an uncertain future having failed to nail down a starting role under Klopp. Once again the £32.5million frontman was sat on the bench as the Reds toiled in search of a breakthrough.

Little blame could be placed at the feet of Roberto Firmino, who led the line against United.

The Brazilian attacker couldn't hit the heights he had reached against Arsenal in midweek but there was still plenty to admire about the shift he put in.

The problem was the absence of any real quality around him as Firmino remained horribly isolated for long periods.

By the time Klopp belatedly introduced Benteke late on, the game had gone. The introduction of Steven Caulker as a makeshift striker at the death smacked of desperation.

Appalling recruitment to blame for failings

How did it come to this? Twenty months ago Liverpool had one of the most deadly marksmen on the planet leading the line in Luis Suarez.

Now they are throwing on a centre-back who is on loan from a Championship club up front.

Liverpool have spent nearly £300million in the transfer market since Brendan Rodgers' appointment in the summer of 2012.

Yet their recruitment has been largely appalling . Vast sums of cash have been squandered on striking flops like Fabio Borini, Iago Aspas and Mario Balotelli.

After Rodgers paid the price with his job last October, Klopp has been left to pick up the pieces.

Another Anfield rebuilding job awaits and days like this highlight the full extent of it. The absence of any real match-winners is glaring.

Even if it's merely another loan which acts as a sticking plaster until the summer, signing a striker during the current window is a necessity if Liverpool are going to secure anything tangible between now and May.

No complaints about passion - but an alarming lack of composure

This was a very different Reds performance to the lifeless display served up in the defeat at Old Trafford back in September.

On this occasion there could be no complaints about the passion or the commitment levels.

After a cagey opening, Liverpool took control and United rarely ventured outside their own half.

Bringing in Lucas Leiva for Jordon Ibe was hardly a positive move by Klopp but the long-serving Brazilian provided a much needed combative edge in midfield.

It was Lucas' searching pass which sent Adam Lallana scampering clear only for De Gea to deny him. Firmino fired the rebound wide.

Liverpool enjoy plenty of joy down United's left but in the final third there was an alarming lack of both composure and conviction.

James Milner and Jordan Henderson were both wasteful as chances were squandered.

The second half brought more of the same with Liverpool on the front foot and United showing zero ambition.

Emre Can burst past Chris Smalling in the box but once again De Gea rescued the visitors.

The Spanish shot-stopper then clawed away Can's piledriver and reacted smartly to keep out the follow up from Firmino.

Liverpool were fast running out of ideas. Fresh legs were required but it was Ibe rather than Benteke who got the call with Lallana taken off.

Defensively, the Reds had rarely been troubled. Kolo Toure could hold his head high after an accomplished display from the veteran Ivorian.

United had barely had a sniff. But they hung in there and then capitalised on Liverpool's Achilles heel.

It was the seventh time in the league this season that the Reds have conceded from a corner – the worst record in the top-flight.

Marouane Fellaini's header cannoned off the bar and nobody was alert to the danger as Rooney pounced on the rebound.

Finally, Benteke was summoned but Liverpool were deflated and looked resigned to their fate. Firmino fluffed their one opportunity to restore parity.

United could scarcely believe their luck. They came for a point and walked away with all three.

MATCH FACTS

Liverpool: Mignolet, Clyne, Sakho, Toure (Benteke 81), Moreno, Lucas, Can, Henderson, Milner (Caulker 90), Lallana (Ibe 76), Firmino.

Not used: Ward, Smith, Allen, Teixeira

Manchester United: De Gea, Young (Borthwick-Jackson 42), Smalling, Blind, Darmian, Schneiderlin, Fellaini, Lingard (Mata 66), Herrera (Memphis 72), Martial, Rooney.

Not used: Romero, McNair, Varela, Pereira

Referee: Mark Clattenburg

Attendance: 43,865

Goals: Rooney 78.

Bookings: Smalling, Fellaini.

MAN OF THE MATCH