Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho said not his side but Liverpool have to be criticised for their "cautious" approach after a boring 0-0 Premier League draw at Anfield on Monday.
Mourinho was focussed on his side's defensive organisation and thus benched skipper Wayne Rooney, Juan Mata and Jesse Lingard. It worked in his favour as Liverpool, who were known for their pressing game in the ongoing season, failed to make an impact in the first half.
David de Gea was hardly tested as The Reds hit only three shots on target. The United custodian though made two brilliant second-half saves to keep the hosts away from snatching the lead.
United had only 35% of the possession in the game, which was also their lowest share in a league game since Opta began recording the statistics in 2003/04 season, according to reports.
However, the Portuguese tactician was critical about Liverpool not projecting more players in attack and said his goalkeeper "was on a holiday for 90 minutes".
"They played [Emre] Can and [Jordan] Henderson for some reason and they did that for 90 minutes when they normally project more players in attack," Mourinho was quoted as saying by The Guardian.
"They were very cautious. They kept always Can and Henderson in position. They had only one player behind the three more offensive players.
"Even the goalkeeper [De Gea] was on holiday for 90 minutes but he had two big saves to do and he did.
"How many shots on target did Liverpool have on target today? Two. Two shots on target with 65% of possession, you have to be critical of Liverpool. It is their problem, not our problem.
"You like to say they are the last wonder of the world in attacking football but they are also a team that defends and thinks defensively."
With Tuesday's draw, Liverpool lost an opportunity to join Manchester City at the top of the league table and are now placed fourth with 17 points from eight games while United are seventh with 14 points.
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp conceded he was not too happy and that his team should do much better than Monday's performance.
Notably, the Reds have shown quality attacking intent in this season with impressive wins against Arsenal, Chelsea and defending champions Leicester City and their showing against United disappointed their fans and their boss, alike.
"I am not too happy. We lost patience far too early and our passing game was not good. We had 65% possession but we have to do better," Klopp said.
"The best news tonight is we have one point more and a clean sheet, nothing else. We can do much better and we must do much better.
"We have to stay cool. When they want to chase us, we have to use counter-movements. We had these situations but in the last third we lost patience."
