Manchester United captain Harry Maguire hailed the huge progress the Red Devils have made in his 18 months at the club but said much more improvement was needed to deliver major trophies.
United extended their unbeaten league run to 12 matches and their away record to 16 without defeat with a 0-0 draw at Liverpool on Sunday to remain top of the Premier League.
A mammoth 33 points divided the sides last season as Liverpool romped to their first league title in 30 years.
However, a much tighter fight for the title is in store this season, with just five points separating the top six.
“You can see how much we have improved since I’ve been here,” said Maguire, who joined for a world-record fee for a defender from Leicester in August 2019.
“As a team we are on the up but there is loads of improvement we need to make, and make a lot more progress to get to where we want to be.
“We wanted to win the game but we keep the momentum going of not losing, especially away from home.”
United’s last domestic defeat away from home came at Anfield a year ago, when they were comfortably beaten 2-0.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer admitted his side were not at their best on Sunday, but they showed a maturity to keep Liverpool at bay and could have won the game late on, with Alisson Becker denying Bruno Fernandes and Paul Pogba.
“Last time we played here we didn’t have any confidence or momentum,” said Maguire. “The first half felt like we didn’t play well, we felt we could have been brave and hurt them a bit more.
“We didn’t play with belief and courage and I felt the second half was much more like ourselves.
“We are improving but we still need to do better with and without the ball.”
Solskjaer feels the next step for his side is to start taking the game to their main rivals.
Despite their position at the top United have failed to win against Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal, City and Tottenham this season.
“I think it showed throughout the game that the belief grew,” the manager said. “Next time we play them here, or after this experience, we need to impose ourselves on the game.
“Not take a few more risks but we can do better and that is a good feeling to have that I know we can do better — keep trying to do the right things even though you might make the odd mistake.”
