Forget whether you love or hate Sir Alex Ferguson's all-conquering team, that's not the issue.
Neal wondered whether at least half of the country should be rejoicing when a team criticised for its defensive approach succeeds.
The simple answer to that question is "who cares".
In years to come, if Liverpool do lift this season's title, people will look back on this game as the turning point in their season.
And the one thing they probably won't be interested in is how it was achieved.
If I was a Liverpool fan I'd be waking this morning ecstatic that my team had won for a fifth straight game against their most bitter of rivals.
And by now I'd probably be believing it was achieved with 90 minutes of champagne football. That's what football fans are like - every single one of us.
I didn't see many Arsenal fans complaining when they won trophy under trophy with their great defence under George Graham.
And I didn't see much Italian wringing of hands as the Azzurri defended their way to the Euro 2000 final.
In the same way there was very little complaint on Merseyside last season as Gerard Houllier's reborn Anfield machine did that famous Cup treble.
Or this season as they stormed to a healthy lead at the top of the Premiership in early December.
Since then of course Liverpool's approach had come under close scrutiny for one very big reason - it wasn't working.
Instead of winning games they were drawing and losing - and all of a sudden the tactics which took them to the top weren't the right ones any more.
Yes a fan's view of their team is governed quite simply by wins and losses.
Do you think it's great to see your team play in a thriller and lose? Even if it's 5-4? Get real!
How many glorious losing efforts do you have on video? Remember how Liverpool used to go to Old Trafford, pass United off the park but still lose to stupid goals - that doesn' happen any more.
Having just defended Liverpool for their tactics, I'll now heap some well-deserved praise on them.
While Sir Alex Ferguson may have appeared stupified after the final whistle that his side hadn't taken three points, I wasn't.
For once they'd established a foothold in the game and realised this United team were still beatable, they actually created the better chances.
They played as well as they were allowed to in a game dominated by two packed midfields, and did try and attack.
If Michael Owen hadn't shot wide from a good position in the first half, and Fabien Barthez hadn't saved superbly from John Arne Riise and Nicolas Anelka, we might not be talking about a smash-and-grab raid.
It could have been more conclusive than that.
At the back they were defensively superb - and sometimes it's good to see good defenders playing well.
Sami Hyypia was a rock at the centre of the defence, and young Steve Wright was a revelation at right-back.
Further forward Steven Gerrard and co were strong in midfield, even if further forward Owen and co were well marked.
Indeed the best player on the other side of the pitch was probably the much-maligned Laurent Blanc.
For 84 minutes the 36-year-old Frenchman was majestic - coolness itself.
His countless timely interceptions and superb use of the ball rolled back the years.
But in the dying minutes for once, and only once, United lost their concentration.
Ferguson himself had stressed pre-match how important it was his side did so for the whole 90 minutes.
They didn't and how highly they paid for the lapse.
Gerrard's pass and Murphy's finish were superb, and gave Liverpool three deserved points.
Meanwhile United meanwhile must be waking up wondering how they beat this new Liverpool.
They started full of the confidence that a nine-game winning run brings.
But as the game began enthusiasm gave way to desperation as they struggled in vain to create chances.
Save for a long-distance Juan Veron effort and a couple of half-chances for Ryan Giggs this was a stroll in the park for Jerzy Dudek.
It was back to the pre-Christmas United - struggling to create chances and giving away daft goals.
Giggs, so brilliant over the Christmas period, looked lost in his more central role, while Paul Scholes was wasted out on the left.
United looked unbalanced, with their midfielders looking left time and time again for an outlet who just wasn't there.
Ruud van Nistelrooy never looked like scoring for a ninth consecutive game.
Without a true partner up front he was tightly marked by two and at times three men.
In truth he hardly got a kick.
If there is a criticism you can make of United it is in the way they failed to create chances.
They won leagues, cups and trebles with two wide men supplying two strikers.
There was very little evidence of that formation or end product on Tuesday night.
But then again you can only play as well as you're allowed to - and give Liverpool credit for that.
