Jurgen Klopp knows Liverpool's 2-0 victory over RB Leipzig in the Champions League does not gloss over their domestic form but the German was satisfied after proving the doubters wrong in Budapest.
The Reds manager has conceded the defence of their Premier League title is over after three successive defeats but their European prospects are still in full swing after they seized control of their last-16 tie.
Second-half goals from Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane in the first leg at the Puskas Arena – with the tie held in the Hungarian capital because of travel restrictions in Germany – helped Liverpool return to winning ways.
Leipzig, who reached last season's semi-finals and have beaten Paris St Germain and United at home this season, looked out-of-sorts at times but head coach Julian Nagelsmann feels they can count themselves unlucky not to score.
"The big difference of the day was they scored on their two occasions. We had three big chances and just missed them, we weren't clinical enough," he said.
"We did well over the 90 minutes. We created a lot of big chances and at the end you have to score."
Leipzig face an uphill task to overturn the deficit in the second leg- scheduled to be held at Anfield on March 10 – but Nagelsmann is not throwing in the towel.
"The condition is not easy for us ahead of the second leg but it's not impossible," he added. "We will give our everything to make it into the next round."