No smilies as hand of Pogba proves costly

In a week in which Paul Pogba launched his own emoji it took only 27 minutes for internet wags to add a few tears to the icon — and although Zlatan Ibrahimovic has wiped some of them away this result didn’t really leave either side with a smiley face.

A draw is never a completely unsatisfactory result in a United-Liverpool derby; but nevertheless you suspect both sets of players will consider this a missed opportunity in terms of the bigger picture as they bid to catch those above them in the table.

For Liverpool at least there is the satisfaction of ending United’s recent good run, while for United a late goal from Ibrahimovic means they ended the game on a high. But both teams left the field with one eye on what they had lost — whether that was an opportunity to keep pace with leaders Chelsea or, in the home team’s case, a chance to draw level with rivals Manchester City having been 10 points behind them as recently as December 1.