There were fears in Liverpool that the renaissance taking place at Old Trafford this season was more than just another Manchester United false dawn. There were fears that the winds would fill United’s sails again after a decade of doldrums. There was a fear United would finally get things right after so many vanity signings and poor managerial attitudes. There was a fear that United would overtake them again.
Fear drove Liverpool as they went into this game. Fear and the pent-up frustration of a season of disappointments and defeats and doubts. And certainties are replaced by uncertainties. Fear that the Jürgen Klopp era is over. Fear that all the achievements of recent years have ended and others, including United, have been queuing up to drag them in the dirt.
And last night there was something else in Liverpool. There was anger. There was anger against the dying of the light. Anger at being written off and disregarded. Anger that they called her too old. Anger at the criticism of players who have won the Champions League and Premier League in recent years and are not yet ready to step into the blockbuster court.
And in 90 minutes of football last night, all that fear, all that anger, all that history between these two clubs, all their years of supplanting and taunting and loathing each other came together and burst out to produce the best amazing and unexpected result in the history of titanic clashes between the two most successful clubs in English football.
That 7-0 demolition, that 7-0 humiliation, was the worst defeat United have ever suffered. They had lost 7-0 to Wolves in December 1931, 7-0 to Aston Villa in December 1930 and 7-0 to Blackburn Rovers in April 1926. But none of those defeats came against Liverpool. And the 7-0 loss to Liverpool makes it worse. Much worse.
Liverpool defeated Manchester United 7-0 in their best performance of the season at Anfield on Sunday night
The Manchester United players collapsed in the second half as Liverpool stunned everyone in promotion by scoring six goals
Cody Gakpo (Red) opened the scoring after cutting in from the left before firing a powerful punch through a crowd of players
Gakpo (pictured) has previously been linked with a move to Manchester United before joining Liverpool and has been superb in giving the hosts the lead
Mohamed Salah was back at his best as he scored twice in Liverpool’s dominant Anfield game against Manchester United
It could hardly have gone better for Liverpool. Amid their celebrations, Mo Salah scored his second goal of the evening and 129th league goal for Liverpool, making him the club’s all-time Premier League goalscorer, surpassing the mark of the great Robbie Fowler. A double from the outstanding Cody Gakpo, two from Darwin Nunez and a final from Roberto Firmino rounded out the celebrations.
The win breathed new life into Liverpool’s new season, restored their pride and gave them renewed hope that they could salvage Champions League qualification after a miserable season. The defeat disempowered United. Talk of reincarnation may have to be shelved again after that. The players who pushed their resurgence this season, most notably Casemiro, disappeared last night.
The defeat won’t wipe out all the progress Erik ten Hag has made at Old Trafford, but it does raise many question marks about how far there is to go in their revival. It wasn’t just the defeat. It was the way. United were dismantled. In the end they were little more than a bunch. They are 14 points behind Arsenal and one of their games in the hand is lost. The faint hopes that they could still contest a title challenge are over.
The choice of images for the show’s front page hinted at the mood of the home fans leading up to the game. The titular star was James Milner, gruff and bearded, staring at the floor with something between a growl and a frown. The idea seemed to be that this would not be an opportunity for the faint of heart. On the other hand, it never is.
Liverpool season breakout star Stefan Bajcetic was left out and replaced in the starting XI by Harvey Elliott. Elliott was soon turned on his head by Casemiro, Cody Gakpo responded by knocking out Fred, Andy Robertson shoved Rashford into the billboards, it rained hoots from the stands, players grabbed and growled at each other and the mutual hatred the story left in its wake , was ubiquitous.
Liverpool were the better team in the frenetic opening games, dominating midfield and tackling challenges with all the zeal and effectiveness of old times without giving United a moment to calm down. Still, it was United who created the first chance, Wout Weghorst holding the ball well and putting it down to Antony, who sliced his left foot inside and brought in a good dive save from Alisson.
United couldn’t live with the intensity of United’s first 25 minutes. Mo Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold combined in a subtle swing to free Robertson but his shot was blocked as he sliced inside. A minute later, Darwin Nunez was about to convert a Robertson cross when he was thwarted by a superb challenge from Lisando Martinez. When Salah tried to go around him shortly after, Martinez blocked him with a powerful elbow to the jaw, which went unpunished.
After weathering the storm, United began threatening at the other end. Nunez lost concentration and allowed Diogo Dalot to run behind him and cross at the back post for Bruno Fernandes, whose header went agonizingly wide. Then Luke Shaw drilled a pass over Virgil van Dijk and into Rashford’s path. Rashford took it early, with the ambition that comes with confidence, but he missed his half-volley and it rolled into Alisson’s hands.
Marcus Rashford was unable to continue his impressive goalscoring form
Three minutes from half-time, when United had established a glimpse of dominance, Liverpool took the lead. Alisson sprayed a long ball out of his area to Robertson who controlled it, found some space and played a brilliant pass into Fred down Gakpo’s run. Running towards it, Gakpo sliced inside Raphael Varane and deflected his shot around a defender and on target into the corner of the net. Anfield erupted with joy.
A minute after the break, Liverpool were 2-0 up. A careless pass from Shaw was intercepted by Elliott and as Fabinho and Jordan Henderson edged to the edge of the box, the ball finally landed on Elliott’s right. He whipped in a right-footed cross and Nunez, who hadn’t impressed until then, moved up the middle to pass David de Gea.
The celebrations had hardly stopped as Liverpool continued to move forward. Henderson, who had been the cornerstone of Liverpool’s resurgence, played the ball calmly from the back when Gakpo was under pressure. Gakpo slides a precise pass to Salah that torments poor Martinez and inflicts him with a nasty case of what United legend Paddy Crerand would have called ‘twisted blood’.
Salah spun Martinez one way and then the other and as Martinez tried to keep up with him he slipped and fell onto the turf. This is the kind of misfortune that sparks a thousand memes. With Martinez lying there, Salah slid the ball past him into Gakpo’s run, who lobbed it over De Gea quite brilliantly.
United wavered. All the certainties of the last few weeks had been taken away from them. They looked normal again. They looked fallible. Casemiro, the architect of so many of their revivals, was anonymous in midfield, overwhelmed by Henderson’s industry and Elliott’s invention. Martinez was so frustrated by his team’s impotence that he knocked out Gakpo with a late tackle on the edge of the United box that earned him a booking. United lost both their composure and the game. Scott McTominay was yellow carded soon after for another poor tackle on Gakpo.
Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag (centre) could do nothing to stop his side collapsing at Anfield as Liverpool dominated action
Darwin Nunez scored his second goal of the game with a brilliant header that sailed through Man United’s defence
Cody Gakpo scored twice as he ended his second goal with a brilliant chip over Man United goalkeeper David de Gea (blue).
Mo Salah (11) scored Liverpool’s fourth goal as his powerful shot shook the bar before ending in the net
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp (centre right) beamed at full-time as his side put on their best performance of the season
Manchester United players fell off the Anfield lawn after being embarrassed by Liverpool in their worst performance of the season
Liverpool got a fourth midway through the half. Henderson launched another blitz counterattack and just when it seemed the train had collapsed, Nunez played it forward to Salah. Salah instinctively turned and whipped the bouncing ball over De Gea and off the underside of the bar.
They went five up when Henderson took a free kick that had shot across the area and floated it back into the box. Nunez rose to meet him and glanced past De Gea. United looked like they were in shock and things got even worse with five minutes remaining. The ball bounced around United’s six-yard box until it got to Salah and he forced it past De Gea to take the record.
Three minutes later, one of Liverpool’s favorite sons, Roberto Firmino, who will leave the club at the end of the season and got a stormy reception when he came on as a second-half substitute, scored from close range in seventh. Liverpool fans seemed caught between joy and disbelief.
“We want 10, we want 10,” sang the Kop. On a famous night at Anfield, it was about the only thing the Liverpool players couldn’t deliver.