Matt Maher: Manchester United are going nowhere with Ole at the wheel

Yet from their point of view the aftermath has arguably been even more concerning.

There surely can’t be many outside the Old Trafford boardroom who understands how or why Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is still in post?

It is not as though the result occurred in isolation. United had shipped four goals at Leicester the previous week, taken one point from their previous three matches in the Premier League, while even positive results in recent weeks were achieved with largely unconvincing performances and late goals.

During any other era, getting hit for five at home by Liverpool would surely have been fatal for any United boss? And yet Solskjaer somehow survives, perhaps not for long but at least, if reports are to be believed, until the international break.

In an age when some clubs dismiss managers at the first sign of trouble, some will be tempted to praise United for showing patience and sticking by their man.

The suspicion, however, is Solskjaer has survived not because of any great belief in his ability to right the ship but more due to the vacuum of leadership which appears to exist above him. Long-time chief executive Ed Woodward is serving out his notice and is effectively a lame duck and it is not obvious who has or indeed wants the responsibility of wielding the axe.

For supporters worried about long-term prospects, that should be more worrying than any one-off result, no matter how embarrassing. It fits with the narrative which has seen United’s decision-makers stick with Solskjaer for nearly three years, seemingly in the hope things would eventually come good.

Many observers were never convinced, this one included. Indeed, after Villa drew 2-2 at Old Trafford in late December 2019 a piece ran in this space declaring Solskjaer was never going to be the man for the job.

There have, admittedly, been times when the Norwegian threatened to make us look foolish but while his reign has not been short on high points, never has he fully convinced.

At some point in the next few weeks his reign should reach its logical conclusion but the question of where United go next is much more problematic.