If Cody Gakpo scores either of the two shots that hit the post, or the unmarked header inside the six-yard box, Liverpool win, Ruben Amorim is struggling and sacked, and Arne Slot is challenging for a back-to-back title. But he doesn’t score.

Instead, Arne Slot’s tactics don’t work. They lost. He’s a fraud. He got lucky in his first season. They are out of the title race. Maybe they are, but that is ridiculous.

United win, Ruben Amorim’s tactics worked. The long ball game was a masterclass, and he is a genius. They lose, and the long ball is never going to work in a top-flight team. This is the Premier League; United can attract top talent regardless of their league position. Every team should be playing the same way; you can’t think outside the box.

I argued that Manchester United are one of the most exciting attacking teams in the Premier League from open play four weeks ago. My opinion has not changed, and nothing in that game made me change my mind. They are the same team you saw the game prior and the game prior to that, but were slightly more organized defensively. That was Luke Shaw’s best performance in at least six months.

United performed as you’d expect but got lucky for once. Gakpo scores one of the three chances, and all of that goes away. The narrative gets turned on its head. Even a draw.

If Liverpool win, suddenly Liverpool’s summer transfer window was expensive but a massive success. They lose, they are in crisis; they have to sign Semenyo in the winter to save their project because, except for Ekitike, every signing is either unfit, Isak, or adjusting, also Isak. Or maybe when you lose a generational passer in Trent Alexander-Arnold and completely alter a working system, it takes time to adjust as a team.

Results-based analysis blinds us from what is really going on underneath the surface. It is made for those that don’t pay attention or for those who can’t separate one part of a game, the defense, from another part of the game, the attack, and vice versa.

I understand why that might be the case if you are a fan of the team because losing is the only thing a fan would care about, but I can’t understand why the score would influence a neutral. A neutral shouldn’t care if a team wins or loses.