It is just a short walk from The Tollgate pub to Old Trafford, a walk taken by thousands of Manchester United fans each and every season, but many of those supporters will soon hope that walks like the one taken on Monday night aren't needed any more.
Thousands of fans gathered around the pub to begin their protest from around 5.30pm, many bringing flags and banners and songs calling for the removal of the hated Glazer family ownership. But while there had been some fears that things could get out of hand as they did in the somewhat more impromptu protest in May 2021 - when no fans were allowed into the ground due to Covid restrictions, but many broke in anyway - there was a more organised, determined feel to this collective effort from a fed up fanbase.
A social media movement before the Liverpool fixture had called for supporters to boycott the game, instead staying outside Old Trafford, but the intrigue over a match against the club's fiercest rivals was always likely to win over in the end.
After back-to-back defeats to Brighton and Brentford, the latter a shambolic 4-0 loss, United and their new manager Erik ten Hag - whose name featured prominently on a banner at the front of the protest march - needed their passionate fanbase to support the team and help them get on top of a Liverpool side who have been known to wilt at Old Trafford in the past.
Stirred up by the passions outside and what was at stake inside, Old Trafford became a bear pit as fans vented their fury at the Glazers and Liverpool - one of the clubs who have surpassed them in recent years, and the one that hurts the most - in equal measure.
Songs referencing tragedies and vile, incorrect accusations are one thing that unfortunately seems like will never be removed from this fixture despite ongoing pleas from all sides, and it is important to point that out and ensure that supporters singing those should never be excused.
Back at the protest though, there was only one enemy, and the sense that United fans could strike a blow for the whole of football if they were successful in their attempts to remove them.
"Four generations of my family have supported Manchester United and those are the types of supporters who are being forced out," said fan Andy Lewis outside The Tollgate.
"United are a family club, and it's never been further away from that than it is today. We're owned by parasitical owners who care nothing about the history. It wasn't theirs to buy.
"They care nothing about Manchester. They've not invested a dime in Old Trafford. Anything that's come in has come through the Class of 92.
"The end game has got to be to get rid of the Glazers then have a look at independent regulators and fan ownership in football, because it's not just a Manchester United issue."
Another fan, when asked for his take, simply shouted that he wanted Joel Glazer to die, which showed the range of emotions and expressions on show, but that was inevitable as passions ran high.
They did go too high at the odd point as a bottle was thrown at a Liverpool supporters' bus and a fence outside The Tollgate was temporarily uprooted as fans outside the pub were desperate to join in with those inside.
Then shortly before 7pm supporters assembled at the top of Talbot Road to begin their march toward the ground. Material advertising the march had pleaded with fans to "keep it legal, and keep it peaceful", and those orders were largely followed.
The protests became louder as they got closer and closer to Old Trafford, with green and yellow flares to the fore, but there was never any indication that things would turn violent. Indeed, there were no issues between both sets of supporters bar the usual chants, although the protest did affect many Liverpool fans as they were denied entry while protesters passed through their area.
In the Munich tunnel to the left, club staff at the media and corporate box entrances were quick to bring the shutters down upon first sight of the fans, in readiness for the protest to pass through what is quite a narrow gap, causing those of us who had been documenting events outside to be kept waiting.
Fans would march through, again fairly peacefully, although at one point a smoke bomb did fill the low ceiling area with thick green smoke that quickly dispersed.
United stewards and security - spooked from the events of May 2021 - were being ultra cautious with the opening up of entrances, When things had become a lot calmer one was asked why they still weren't opened, and could only point up toward an area where United and Liverpool fans stood alongside a heavy police presence, saying "that lot there!"
A few in the media - including myself - had to take alternate routes through the bowels of Old Trafford to get to the press box having been allowed in via a turnstile, missing the opening 20 minutes of the game as a result, not that any of this was important in the grand scheme of things.
It was suggested that some media had given up trying to gain entry entirely, while fans waiting for entry to corporate boxes looked bemused by the whole thing, surely something many of the protestors would have enjoyed.
Whether or not their efforts prove successful remain to be seen, but there is no doubting the message they want to get across and the methods with which they will do it.
United's win, a first in the league over their great rivals in four-and-a-half years, shows that there is life in this club on the pitch and that engaged fans can play a part in that.
What happens off it remains to be seen, although surely the Glazers will have to sit up and take notice at some point.
