LONDON: The humiliating 7-0 defeat of Liverpool by Manchester United was a harsh reality check for Erik ten Hag’s improving team, but the manager has urged his players to rebound this week.
On Sunday, just a week after winning their first trophy in six years, United were crushed by Jurgen Klopp’s resurgent team. At Anfield, Liverpool scored six goals in the second half.
After only one defeat in 22 games and still on a high from beating Newcastle to win the League Cup at Wembley, Ten Hag’s team had traveled to their biggest rivals’ home with a spring in their step.
Their outstanding run featured a historic triumph versus Barcelona in the Europa League as they chased success on four fronts.
However, following the 20-time English champions’ joint-heaviest defeat, they left Anfield with their tails between their legs.
The humiliation puts an end to speculative talk of a quadruple, leaving United in third place 14 points behind leaders Arsenal and well behind Manchester City in second place.
Ten Hag was critical of his team, describing their performance as “unprofessional” and “unacceptable.”
The pitiful showcase shows how much work the Dutchman actually needs to do to revamp a club that poor person won the Chief Association starting around 2013, regardless of unmistakeable indications of progress this season.
This season, United had already lost to Manchester City by a humiliating 6-3 score and to Brentford by a 4-0 score.
Ten Hag urged his team to use the humiliation at Anfield as motivation for the remainder of the season, beginning with Thursday’s Europa League last-16 first leg at Real Betis’ home.
He stated to the BBC
“We have seen in the past we can bounce back — after Brentford, after Manchester City.”
“This is absolutely unacceptable and a significant setback. It really disappoints me and angers me.
It’s a wake-up call. We must respond strongly to this.”
– Horror show –
After a first half that was evenly matched, United was torn to shreds by a Liverpool team that had just lost 5-2 in the Champions League to Real Madrid.
The lauded Casemiro stood by as United’s midfield was overrun by the visitors and the home team seemed to score at will. United’s defense was terrible.
Joined captain Bruno Fernandes came in for especially cruel analysis from previous Joined chiefs Roy Keane and Gary Neville.
Keane told
Sky Sports after the final whistle: ” For me, today’s body language from Fernandes was nothing short of a shame.
“He’s your captain, a really talented boy. He has a lot of talent, but his body language, like not running back and waving his arms, would make you unhappy in our dressing room, I’ll tell you.
Neville called United’s performance a “disgrace,” but he predicted that Ten Hag would quickly turn things around before their Europa League matchup with Real Betis.
He stated, “I believe Erik Ten Hag will deal with them very, very strongly in the next 24, 48 hours — he has done that already this season a few times — and I would hope that basically normal service will be resumed by the end of next week.”
After the Betis game,
Southampton, a team in danger of relegation, will visit Old Trafford, giving United a chance to get back on track.
Despite the shocking outcome at Anfield, United We Stand fanzine editor Andy Mitten urged calm and perspective.
He stated to the BBC, “I know there is a lot of emotion at the moment, but United are still looking very comfortable in third, seven points clear of Liverpool.”
“I wouldn’t have seen that at the beginning of the season. Still competing in the FA Cup and the Europa League, won the League Cup.
