Man Utd suffers a record 7-0 thumping at the hands of Liverpool.
Cody Gakpo, Darwin Nunez, and Mohamed Salah all scored twice as Liverpool destroyed Manchester United 7-0 at Anfield on Sunday, overcoming a frustrating season.
The victory margin for Jurgen Klopp’s team over the two most successful clubs in English football was a new high.
United’s chances of winning the league for the first time in ten years are realistically over with just a second loss in 23 games in all competitions as they are still 14 points behind third-place Arsenal.
But the team’s worst loss since 1931 may have potentially longer-lasting effects.
With a game still to play against fourth-placed Tottenham, Liverpool is just three points behind them.
Last season, Klopp’s team defeated the opposition twice in league play, 9-0 overall, but it appeared the tide had changed this year.
Erik ten Hag’s first victory in charge of United came in an August 2-1 victory over the Reds, and they began the day 10 points ahead of Liverpool.
Liverpool has appeared to be a shell of the team that nearly won a record-breaking treble of trophies last season.
The Premier League run of 13 points from a possible 15 points has put them back in the mix for a spot in the Champions League for next season, despite being humiliated 5-2 at home by Real Madrid.
Ten Hag instructed his team to enjoy the hostile atmosphere at Anfield, where United has not triumphed since 2016.
Even though they had to hold off an early attack, the visitors arguably had the better chances in a contentious first half.
Marcus Rashford should have continued his prolific goal-scoring streak when he shot tamely into Alisson’s arms instead of narrowly missing with a header from Bruno Fernandes.
Two minutes before halftime, Liverpool finally produced a standout performance in the final third to break the score. Casemiro also had a goal disallowed for offside.
Gakpo went inside and blasted low into the far corner after Andy Robertson carved open the United defense.
The second period saw Ten Hag’s troops completely destroyed as Liverpool’s revamped front three came together.
Nunez punished careless United defense by stooping to head in a cross from Harvey Elliott.
Following a quick Liverpool counterattack, Gakpo scored his second goal with a lovely dink over David de Gea.
For United, things could have turned out even worse as Robertson and Ibrahima Konate both saw shots just miss the mark.
But Salah scored when he pounced on Nunez’s through ball and it bounced off the underside of the bar, earning him credit for his performance.
Nunez then headed in his second after Jordan Henderson’s cross entirely left him unguarded.
With 129 goals in the Premier League, Salah overtook Sir Alex Ferguson as Liverpool’s all-time leading scorer after more shoddy United defense.
This week it was disclosed that Roberto Firmino will leave for greener pastures at the end of the current campaign.
The Brazilian, who had been on the bench, scored an incredible seventh goal with two minutes remaining to seal the victory.
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