Xherdan Shaqiri has not quite knocked Manchester United "off their perch", but he played a big part in the demise of Jose Mourinho at the club. 

Liverpool brought the Swiss international on with 20 minutes remaining on Sunday and with the scores evenly poised at 1-1. 

Two goals later and the writing was on the wall for the Portuguese boss, who was relieved of his duties in a meeting with Ed Woodward on Tuesday morning. 

It's a turn of events that has elevated Shaqiri even further into Anfield folklore. 

The 27-year-old was procured from Stoke to add more depth to Jurgen Klopp's squad and he hasn't disappointed with five goals and three assists in all competitions. 

That tally must be all the sweeter for Klopp, and for Shaqiri himself, given that his signing raised more than a few eyebrows in the summer. 

Not only has he now proved himself a more than capable option from the bench, there was always going to be a sense of schadenfreude about a Liverpool player finishing off Mourinho. 

Of course, the result was far from the only reason behind the Special One's removal. It was United's fifth of the league campaign and followed a Champions League loss in Valencia that prevented them from topping the group. 

What is more, Mourinho has had countless well-documented spats with his now-former players and that is believed to have been a factor in his dismissal, especially with January approaching and the board wanting to prevent other high-profile departures.

Nevertheless, Shaqiri has inevitably been inundated with messages about his role in the change of staff across the north-west. 

“I had a lot of messages from my friends when it [Mourinho's sacking] happened,” he told The Guardian.

“There were a lot of good messages about the United game at first and then, when the news came out about Mourinho, I had messages saying: ‘That’s your fault!’ But this is football sometimes.

"I don’t think it was just because we won that game that United wanted to change their manager. There were other reasons but it means the game goes down in history. It will always be in my history too."

While the game had a significant impact on United's season, its impact on Liverpool shouldn't be overlooked. 

Liverpool are now in an excellent position 

Klopp's men maintain a one-point lead at the top of the Premier League table as they prepare for Wolves this weekend. 

“I’m very glad I helped the team win," Shaqiri added.

"That is the most important thing and I was delighted to have an impact on such an important game. I knew before that there was a big rivalry between Liverpool and Man United but to score two goals was very beautiful.

"I will never forget this game. It was a special day not only for me but for the club, too, and to be back on top of the table is always a nice look.”

What a way to achieve cult status on Merseyside. 

Do you think the Liverpool result was what finished off Mourinho? Have your say in the comments.