Can't live with him, can't live without him. Luis Suarez has made life difficult for even the most ardent admirers of his tainted talent over the past few months.
But the outstanding little Uruguayan showed last night that the Reds need his flawed genius if a decent start to this season is going to develop into a fully fledged challenge for a return to Europe.
Rarely can a Liverpool side have enjoyed such significant chunks of possession at Old Trafford and come away empty handed.
Rarely can a Reds side have created such decent chances - the best for Jordan Henderson, another for Victor Moses, one more for Kolo Toure, together with a couple of the kind of opportunities that Daniel Sturridge has hitherto been gobbling up this season - without scoring.
And never can a United team have been put under such spells of sustained pressure without buckling.
If that possession, creativity and control of games is going to be turned into goals and victories rather than narrow defeats, however, Liverpool will need Luis Suarez where he is most effective - on the pitch.
Suarez hadn't kicked a ball in a Liverpool shirt - apart from behind closed doors fitness exercises - but was unarguably Liverpool's most dangerous forward in his first game for five months.
In the early stages it was clear he had been away.
The wavelength with some of his teammates was initially lacking - in the opening minutes he came short for the ball as Steven Gerrard pinged the ball long down the left flank - although reassuringly the rapport with Daniel Sturridge seemed as strong as ever in several slick link-ups.
The United Review diplomatically referred to "a controversial character who divides opinion, even on Merseyside" in their programme profile.
Those divisions weren't evident amongst the 7,258 travelling fans who helped generate a wonderfully febrile atmosphere inside Old Trafford.
They chanted Suarez's name before kick-off - and after taking fully seven minutes to touch the ball (well it had been 10 matches) - those chants became even more vocal and frequent as the number seven's influence increased.
His long absence was evident in several ways.
In the 17th minute he had an excellent opportunity to tee up Gerrard on the edge of the United box, but in his eagerness to impress he swivelled and tried to shoot through a crowed penalty box. The effort was predictably charged down.
A minute later he was too generous, trying to slide a pass into Moses' path after Enrique had pulled back a majestic Gerrard pass.
That time he should have shot.
But in the 19th minute he got it just right.
His slide rule pass played in Daniel Sturridge but, under pressure from Jonny Evans, his strike-partner poked wide.
As if to accentuate the almost, but not quite nature of his match sharpness, in the 21st minute Suarez superbly anticipated Evans' failure to cut out Enrique's cross, but took a fractionally heavy touch in the split second he had to react.
He still got to the ball before David De Gea, but the keeper was able to block.
But in the second half all that match sharpness, devil and twisting dribbles came flooding back.
He rapped the crossbar, fired into the sidenetting and was a nuisance where it mattered most, with a football at his feet.
"He is resilient and one of the strongest characters I have met in my life... he is a fighter and his will and desire to succeed is out there for everyone to see," summed up Brendan Rodgers on Monday.
Suarez stood up to a torrent of boos as he waited to take corners, refused to react when Alex Buttner awkwardly wrapped his legs around him and simply got back up when he was crudely clattered by Phil Jones.
Liverpool still need him. Warts and all.
Source: Liverpool Echo
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