It doesn’t get much worse than that. Manchester United were nothing short of dismal – disorganised in midfield and undisciplined in defence – as they sunk to their worst ever defeat at home to Liverpool.
Jurgen Klopp’s side were not just dependent on the weaknesses of their opponents though. They ruthlessly put United to the sword and genuinely looked like they might score every time they surged forward.
But could it have been even worse for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer‘s men? They had one man sent off, but could have been down to nine, eight or even seven men in the course of the match.
Ronaldo on Jones
The nastier side of Cristiano Ronaldo’s well-known competitive streak came to the fore in added time of the first half.
Pressuring Curtis near to Liverpool’s box, Ronaldo brought the Liverpool wing-back to the ground with a late tackle before lashing out and kicking him twice while he lay on the floor.
Despite a VAR check, referee Anthony Taylor only gave a yellow card for something which could very easily have been judged violent conduct.
“Liverpool feel that the punishment was a lenient one,” Sky Sports commentator Martin Tyler said. Quite the understatement.
Fernandes on Jones
Half-time came and went but United’s lax challenges continued. The first of these occurred fewer than 30 seconds into the second half as Bruno Fernandes was booked for a crunching challenge on Curtis Jones.
So often a talisman for his side, Fernandes dived in on Liverpool’s mercurial youngster and got nowhere near the ball, instead catching his man quite high on his leg.
This could well have been a red but once again Taylor opted for a yellow.
Maguire on Salah
Harry Maguire endured a torrid evening as he and his fellow defenders were pulled hither and thither by Liverpool’s attacking dynamism throughout.
Yet it could have been even worse when he slid into the back of Diogo Jota on the edge of the box with a tackle that was timed and executed poorly.
Not only was it on the edge of the penalty area, but with very few men around Jota and the goalmouth beckoning, Taylor could have judged Maguire to have been denying the Portuguese player a goal-scoring opportunity and sent the England defender off.
“There were signs of indiscipline before the break but they have followed it up in the second half,” a seething Gary Neville said on Sky Sports.
“There have been three tackles which haven’t been great.”
Soon there would be four.
Pogba on Keita
Brought on in the 46th minute, Paul Pogba’s impact on this battle of the rivals can be summed up in one shocking tackle. It was the only United challenge judged to warrant a red card and it epitomised his side’s abject performance.
The France international dived into the tackle with both feet raised and above the ball, colliding with Naby Keita’s standing leg. This too only received a yellow card initially, but was rightly overturned after a VAR check, which resulted in Taylor reviewing the incident on a pitchside screen while Keita was taken off on a stretcher.
“I think we all recognise that that is the tackle which has to go,” Neville, a legend at Old Trafford and still a United fan but by now despondent, said.
“This is as bad as it gets honestly. At the end of the day we’ve all lost football matches in bad ways.
“It happens but it’s the nature of the performance. They’ve capitulated.”
With a five-goal lead and opponents with only 10 men, it was no surprise that Liverpool were then able to see out the victory in relative ease.
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/3vHY7wd
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