Is Liverpool Just Fine After Huge Rebound From Champions League Woes?
On Sunday at Anfield, Liverpool dealt a crushing blow to Manchester United’s winning streak as Cody Gakpo, Darwin Nunez, and Mohamed Salah each scored two goals, resulting in a record-breaking 7-0 victory over their rivals. The win significantly enhanced Liverpool’s chances of securing a spot in the top four of the Premier League standings.
Liverpools’ Biggest Win
Just a week after Manchester United’s Carabao Cup win, which marked their resurgence since 2017 and sparked discussions about a possible title push, they were soundly defeated by Liverpool. The latter team achieved their largest-ever margin of victory in the fixture, with a dominant performance that saw them score either side of half-time.
For the first 43 minutes of the match, third-placed Manchester United appeared to be the slightly better team. However, the game quickly turned into a nightmare for Erik ten Hag’s side, resulting in their worst defeat since 1931 when they lost 7-0 to Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Klopp Happy With Team’s Performance
Liverpool coach Jurgen Klopp struggled to find words to describe his team’s incredible performance after the match. He praised his team’s super active, lively and front-foot approach, which allowed them to dominate against an in-form team. Klopp acknowledged that the team had been a bit wild in the first half, but they quickly regained control in the second half, resulting in a great start and finish to the game. Overall, he expressed satisfaction with his team’s remarkable performance.
Efficient Second Half For Liverpool
Liverpool took the lead at halftime thanks to a superb finish by Gakpo from their first attempt on target.
After the break, the match quickly turned into a one-sided affair. Within five minutes, Darwin made it 2-0 with a header, taking advantage of some comical defending by Manchester United. Liverpool then capitalized on a lightning counter-attack led by Salah, who finished in style to make it 3-0.
With United losing their composure and struggling to get back into the game, Salah added insult to injury by scoring his team’s fourth goal in the 66th minute. Nunez followed suit by sending a header past United’s helpless goalkeeper David De Gea in the 75th minute. However, Liverpool wasn’t finished yet.
To add to Manchester United’s misery, Salah scored a close-range goal, which was his record-breaking 129th Premier League goal for Liverpool. This feat surpassed the record held by Liverpool legend Robbie Fowler.
Roberto Firmino also contributed to Liverpool’s impressive performance after coming off the bench to score the team’s seventh and final goal, although most of United’s followers had already left the stadium by then.
Liverpool had previously thrashed United 4-0 at Anfield in April 2022. Given the change in fortunes for the two clubs since then, this victory came as a major surprise to many.
Current Table
Manchester United’s humbling defeat, which was described as a “disgrace” by Sky Sports pundit and former defender Gary Neville, left them in third place with 49 points and likely out of the title race. They are currently 14 points behind the league leaders, Arsenal, who have played an additional game.
In contrast, Liverpool’s fourth win in five league matches lifted them above Newcastle United into fifth place with 42 points, just three points behind fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur, with a game in hand.
Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson expressed his delight with his team’s fantastic performance, stating that every player on the team performed at a top-quality level, something that the team had been missing for a while. He acknowledged that the team had been on the right path in their previous Premier League games, and today’s result proved that their energy levels were back.
It’s worth noting that Liverpool’s previous biggest victory over Manchester United was a 7-1 win in 1895, back when both clubs were in the second tier of English football.
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