Liverpool brought Manchester United crashing down to earth in a stunning 7-0 rout in the Premier League at Anfield on Sunday.
Cody Gakpo, Darwin Nunez and Mohamed Salah all struck twice and Roberto Firmino scored the other, with six of the goals coming in an explosive second-half performance.
The defeat was Erik ten Hag’s heaviest as United manager and seriously hampered his four-pronged pursuit of trophies, with a Premier League title challenge now looking increasingly unlikely.
Liverpool, meanwhile, took advantage of losses for top four rivals Newcastle and Tottenham on Saturday to strengthen its own bid to qualify for the Champions League.
Gakpo opened the scoring in the 43rd minute after Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford had missed chances to put United ahead.
Nunez struck in the 47th and Salah Gakpo made it 3-0 in the 50th.
With United looking to get back into the match, Liverpool went on the rampage.
Salah made it 4-0 in the 66th and Nunez struck again in the 75th.
It was 6-0 when Salah scored in the 83rd and Firmino stepped off the bench to score in the 88th.
Gary Neville says he has “had enough” of Bruno Fernandes following Manchester United’s loss at Liverpool.
The Portuguese international captained his team at Anfield but proved unable to stop a 7-0 defeat at the hands of their greatest rivals.
Fernandes missed a glorious opportunity to give his side the lead before Cody Gakpo’s opener by putting a diving header wide from close range.
Jurgen Klopp roared his Liverpool team are “still alive” after a stunning 7-0 win over rivals Manchester United.
After a difficult season, Klopp’s side appear to be hitting form and a huge victory against United at Anfield made it five consecutive Premier League wins.
Mohamed Salah, Cody Gakpo and Darwin Nunez all bagged braces before Roberto Firmino scored the seventh in the dying embers of the game.
Erik ten Hag slammed Manchester United’s performance against Liverpool as “unacceptable”.
The Dutchman watched his side thrashed 7-0 at Anfield after a meek display at the home of their bitter rivals.
Mohamed Salah, Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo all bagged braces before late substitute Roberto Firmino added a seventh in the dying embers of the game.
United capitulated in the second half after Gakpo’s opener had arguably come against the run of play before the break.
Gary Neville’s disappointment in Manchester United’s derby crushing at the hands of Liverpool was evident as he reacted furiously to Jamie Carragher’s teasing in commentary.
The former derby rivals were both in the Sky Sports gantry at Anfield at the hosts smashed seven goals past a beleagured United side.
As Liverpool racked up the goals, scoring three in the final 15 minutes in a game that was goalless until the 43rd minute, Neville delivered a stark assessment of the Red Devils’ performance.
Cody Gakpo, Mohamed Salah and Darwin Nunez both scored twice as a resurgent Liverpool team thrashed Manchester United at Anfield.
While manager Jurgen Klopp has been reluctant to call his team’s recent upturn in form a genuine comeback, the Reds rolled back the years at the expense of their greatest rivals.
Jurgen Klopp has admitted his is “really happy” to see Marcus Rashford in such impressive form, even if that is a strange opinion for a Liverpool manager to hold.
Since returning from the World Cup, Rashford has scored 17 goals in 20 matches across all competitions, a run of form that has helped Manchester United lift the Carabao Cup and knock Barcelona out of the Europa League.
He now turns his attention to Liverpool, with United travelling to Anfield this weekend and looking to extend their 11-match unbeaten run.
It is a huge match between the two rivals, with United knowing they cannot afford to drop any ground if they are to keep their slim Premier League title hopes alive, while Liverpool are still in the hunt for a top-four finish despite their poor season to date.
Manchester United forward Alejandro Garnacho has been rewarded for his good form at club level with a first call-up to the Argentina national team.
Manager Lionel Scaloni has named the 18-year-old in his first squad since winning the World Cup in Qatar in December for games against Panama and Curaco later this month.
Garnacho has scored five goals in 30 appearances across all competitions this season and is increasingly becoming a fixture in Erik ten Hag’s first-team at Old Trafford.
Born in Madrid, Garnacho is eligible to represent Argentina through his mother and joins a raft of big names in the squad.
Lionel Messi, who had been tipped to retire following the World Cup, returns alongside veterans Angel Di Maria and Nicolas Otamendi.
Roberto Firmino is set to leave Liverpool at the end of the season.
The Brazilian international has been dogged by injury of late and has made only five appearances since the World Cup.
In January manager Jurgen Klopp expressed his desire for Firmino to stay beyond his current deal, having previously said the player was “a complete footballer”, and “plays something like 12 instruments in our orchestra”.
However, the PA news agency understands Firmino, who has made 353 appearances, scored 107 goals and won the Champions League and Premier League with the Reds, has decided not to extend his stay at Anfield.
Ronaldo left United at the end of November when his contract ended by mutual consent and has since joined Saudi Arabian side Al Nassr where he is the highest-paid player in the world.
I had my reasons [for Ronaldo’s exit],” Ten Hag said. “They were obvious, and I also knew the consequences. It could have had a negative outcome. That is always possible in football. But I am not worrying. I sleep well also, even during those nights.
“I have to take decisions in respect of advancing the club and the team. That is my job and that is the responsibility I have — and I have to stand by those decisions. I have to face the consequences and the impact of my decisions, not only in the short term but also for the longer term.
“Of course, you don’t always have a lot of time. In that period I remember we had 10 days so I could consider which choice would be the best. You always have to think strategically. But that is my job and that is the responsibility I have to take.”
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp admits he has not missed facing a competitive Manchester United side but, while he respects counterpart Erik ten Hag’s Old Trafford revolution, he “couldn’t be less interested” in their achievements.
United arrive at Anfield on Sunday looking to do the double over their arch-rivals for the first time since January 2016, which was Klopp’s first encounter with them.
And after last season’s 9-0 aggregate win for Liverpool, the tables have turned slightly, with United now in the ascendency and the 23 points amassed post-World Cup the most of any team in the competition, having lost just three of their last 22 league matches and won the Carabao Cup.
Klopp’s side, by contrast, have been struggling all campaign, and while they have steadied the ship with three wins and a draw in their last four league games, third-placed United still have the edge over them heading into the fixture.
“Great, United’s doing well. I didn’t miss them,” said a laughing Klopp as he punched the air at his pre-match press conference.
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“I can imagine how annoying it was for the last few years when we were there and everyone was talking about ‘Klopp did this and Klopp is doing that. Outstanding. And they are bringing in young players’. It is really ‘ugh’ (sticking his fingers down his throat).
“They deserve it, they deserve where they are. They won the points, they played good football like all the others as well.
“This is not where we are this year but we were there the last few years and we want to go there again, 100 per cent.
“But apart from that I couldn’t be less interested in what they are doing. I just respect what they do and then I analyse it.”
United will head to Merseyside bursting with confidence after such a strong run under the celebrated Ten Hag across all competitions and with a trophy already in the bag.
The only question for the Red Devils at the moment is if they can handle the sheer demands of such a busy schedule, with 41 games racked up already this term. That will become 65 if they manage to go all the way in the FA Cup and Europa League.
Martial’s ongoing issues and Eriksen absence aside, they are looking okay on the injury front just at the moment and in the formidable Rashford boast the form player in world football.
Liverpool continue to be racked with inconsistency, though Jurgen Klopp will hope his team are capable of rising to the challenge against their fiercest rivals after gaining something to build on against Wolves.