If talk of Liverpool's demise was premature, it is possible that the enthusiastic response to their recent return to form is similarly inappropriate.
Just as other clubs with designs on this season's championship were beginning to monitor their revival with mounting apprehension, Liverpool gave a performance on Saturday that - while not as abysmal as Graeme Souness, the manager, suggested later - was certainly disappointing.
Souness no longer invites questions after the games: he simply says his piece and hurriedly departs. However, on this occasion, with brevity came eloquence and no little common sense. "I am disappointed, both with the result and with the performance," he said. "Some of my players were guilty of believing what had been written about them in the week. City worked harder and fully deserved their point."
Bearing in mind that a predictably frenetic game was played out in a ferocious gale and on a pitch made treacherous by surface water, Souness was, perhaps, being harsh about his side's considerable contribution to a splendid afternoon's entertainment.
Although Liverpool's attacks carried only the barest threat and their midfield was inclined to ignore rather than harness the elements, there were some encouraging signs, notably the assuredness of Tanner in defence and the dogged persistence of Saunders up front.
It was ironic that, during the course of an opening half of much incident but no great substance, City enjoyed a greater share of possession only to find themselves constantly indebted to their defence.
With Liverpool's belief in their own ability still not fully restored, they again needed a slice of luck to calm their nerves. Nine times out of ten, Coton, the City goalkeeper, would have comfortably saved Saunders' hopeful drive in the eighth minute, but instead he allowed the ball to slip through his fingers.
Quinn, City's most productive forward, had been so well shackled that Liverpool's slender advantage seemed likely to guarantee victory until White emerged to claim two memorable goals early in the second half. After delicately lofting a shot of deceptive power over Grobbelaar, he displayed remarkable positional awareness to score with a looping drive from the most acute of angles.
Nicol salvaged a point for Liverpool seven minutes from the end with a firm, rising shot.
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