The battle for the 2022/23 premiership title took an interesting turn on Sunday when high flying Manchester United FC lost scandalously to Liverpool FC 7-0.
The Manchester side were cruising comfortably behind their city rivals, Manchester City FC, who are second on the table and league leaders, Arsenal FC of London when Liverpool gave them the drubbing of the century at Anfield, Liverpool’s home.
“Liverpool got braces from Mohamed Salah, Cody Gakpo, and Darwin Nunez as the Reds collected all the good vibes in a 7-0 smashing of old rivals Manchester United at Anfield on Sunday.
“Roberto Firmino scored in the 88th minute of this seven-star show that moves Jurgen Klopp’s Reds within three points of fourth-place Tottenham Hotspur with a match-in-hand,” said NBC Sport.
Manchester United were still in a gay mood under Erik ten Hag after winning the League Cup, beating Barcelona to reach the last 16 of the Europa League, and outlasting West Ham to reach the FA Cup quarterfinals when the Liverpool defeat came.
The 7-0 score line is the worst Premier League defeat in Manchester United history.
On Sunday, “Erik ten Hag’s Manchester United was neither resilient, solid, nor exceptional in any positive way on Sunday, obliterated by a woe-begone Liverpool side who gladly pounced on mistakes to rebuild its top-four hopes at Anfield.
“Now the Dutch boss has to react in the right manner, because even the star men he hailed for their mentality after winning the League Cup – Raphael Varane, Casemiro, David De Gea-looked disinterested by the time the game hit 3-0. It wasn’t even close, and perhaps Ten Hag’s obvious decision to call it a day with his 58th minute subs of Scott McTominay and Alejandro Garnacho for Wout Weghorst and Fred just wheezed its way through the squad.”
The Manchester United loss however means so much for Liverpool. “The Reds rifled home goals Sunday with a frequency we’ve only seen them reserve for excuses this season, and it was fitting that Mohamed Salah — who’s had a very good, under-the-radar season – was able to put together a ‘look-at-me’ day because his fellow finishers showed up.
“And don’t be surprised if Roberto Firmino, who came off the bench to join the scoring, enjoys a fitting end to his Liverpool career over the final few months of the season.
“Moreover, if Liverpool’s going to pounce on mistakes this way, maybe it’s not crazy to imagine the Reds reversing that 5-2 deficit to Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League.”
How did Liverpool manager, Jurgen Klopp take it? “No works, spectacular football game. Start of the game was exactly what we needed; Super fun, super lively, super active. We played top football against a team in-form.
“Second half, everything was pretty good. That’s football. That can happen. United has played a super season. I’m not really happy with ours but that doesn’t mean anything at the moment. It’s a very important three points for us.”
United’s manager, Erik ten Hag said, “We played decent first half, one mistake in organization but it wouldn’t have been weird if we were in the lead by halftime.
“Second half. It was not professional? Is he angry? Yes definitely. I’m surprised because I’ve seen the last week months, and what was that of mine? Second half we didn’t have a winning attitude at all?
“We didn’t stick to the plan. We lost our heads and we didn’t do our jobs. We know how good they are in transition and we just aren’t running with our opponents. It’s unprofessional.
“We’ve seen in the past we can bounce back, after the Brentford, after the City game. We let the fans down. I’m angry. This is a reality check. We have to take this strong message. We have to take our lessons out.”
Meanwhile, the mid-season result has placed united fans under jibes from rival fans in Nigeria and all over the world.
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