Alan Shearer and Danny Murphy disagreed with Jurgen Klopp's criticism of Manchester United's tactics during their 0-0 draw with Liverpool.
The two teams played out a goalless draw at Anfield on Sunday with clear-cut chances at a premium.
United set up to counter-attack against the reigning champions, whilst Liverpool held more possession and continued to probe for an opening.
Bruno Fernandes and Paul Pogba had the game's best chances, though, drawing two excellent saves from Alisson from close range.
After the match, Klopp suggested that United were overly negative as his side failed to score for a third consecutive Premier League match.
"The worst thing you can face in football is to play against a side with world-class players and they all defend with all they have. It is really difficult, it is the biggest challenge," Klopp said.
"The way we understood the game, the way we felt the game, the way we read the moments were really good. But it is not exactly how it should be so we have space for improvement, absolutely. We will keep working on that."
However, Shearer and Murphy both argued against Klopp's point, agreeing that United grew into the first half after an initial slow start, before going on to create the better chances in the match.
"I wouldn’t agree with that no [suggestions from Henderson and Klopp that United came to defend], I thought they grew into the game," Shearer told Match of the Day 2.
"First half they defended deep and got men behind the ball. But second half I thought they were the better team, Man United. They had two exceptional chances and with those chances, should have won the game.”
Murphy added: “I thought United were poor in the first half as their own manager said, in terms of trying to get out.
"They ended up defending deeper than they would’ve liked. Liverpool were sharp, they were at it. Thiago was running the show for half an hour. They got in good positions but didn’t quite capitalise, but I agree, second half I thought United grew into it.
"Grew stronger, grew more confident, and actually had the better chances in the second half to win it. And it shows how far they’ve come.There was a lot of good stuff from United in the second half.”
