Liverpool 4-0 Man United (Diaz 5′, Salah 22′, 85′, Mane 68′)
Liverpool moved ahead of Manchester City at the top of the Premier League with a comprehensive 4-0 thrashing of Manchester United at Anfield.
Goals from Mo Salah (2), Luis Diaz and Sadio Mane ensured a comfortable evening for the Reds against a United side that was completely outclassed from first minute to last.
Here is how players from both teams rated:
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Alisson: Completed more dribbles in the first-half than Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford combined; a statistic that highlighted Liverpool’s dominance and United’s meekness. Didn’t have a difficult save to make all evening 6/10
Alexander-Arnold: Was in position to provide yet another assist but was beaten to the punch by Salah who squared for Diaz. Didn’t make his usual impact in the final third but had to be switched on defensively to cope with the lively Sancho 7/10
Matip: Enjoyed as comfortable a game as he has had all season in the first half, before United belatedly grew into it after half-time 6/10
Van Dijk: Angrily smashed the ball into an advertising boarding in frustration when it looked as though Liverpool might let United back into the game and that moment may have helped jolt the team back into life 6/10
Robertson: Not as impactful as usual but played a significant role in the third goal that sealed the game by making a trademark lung-busting run from defence before feeding Diaz to assist Mane 7/10
Fabinho: With United offering nothing whatsoever in the first half, Fabinho was free to saunter forward from his defensive midfield position and show his lesser-seen attacking qualities 7/10
Henderson: Recalled to the starting XI after dropping down to the bench for Saturday’s FA Cup semi-final win against Manchester City and produced a typically authoritative display 7/10
Thiago: Has been in supreme form of late and ran the show in the first-half. There can’t be many more watchable players when at the peak of their powers than Thiago. United’s midfield couldn’t get near him all evening. So smooth, so good 9/10
Salah: Raced through to provide the cut-back for Diaz’s opener before ending a run of eight games without club or country with a typically unerring finish. Less involved in the second half but still helped himself to another goal with a cheeky dink over De Gea. Now five clear of Son in the Golden Boot race 9/10
Diaz: Took advantage of sloppy United defending to score his fourth Liverpool goal after only five minutes and as has been customary since he joined, looked a constant threat. Added an assist to his tally by teeing up Mane for the clincher 8/10
Mane: Opened up the United defence for the first and then supplied a sublime assist for Salah with a perfectly weighted first-time clipped pass for the second and then scored the third with a confident left-footed finish 8/10
Subs:
Jota: Only Salah and Heung-min Son have scored more Premier League goals than Jota this season but he showed his creative side by setting up Salah to score his second 7/10
Keita: Introduced late on and arguably should have been sent off for a poor challenge 5/10
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Man Utd
De Gea: Left horribly exposed, as he has been all season but didn’t get anywhere near any of Liverpool’s goals. United’s most consistent player this season but has had better games 4/10
Wan-Bissaka: Couldn’t cope with Diaz as a right wing-back in the first half but fared slightly better against Salah when switched over to the left for the second 4/10
Lindelof: The least terrible of United’s three centre-backs, not that that’s saying an awful lot 4/10
Jones: A mixture of poor positioning on his part and a rush of blood from Maguire left him completely isolated for Diaz’s goal. Far from United’s biggest culprit given his lack of game-time. Taken off at half-time 3/10
Maguire: Found himself in no man’s land in the build-up to Liverpool’s opener after charging out of position and endured yet another difficult game 3/10
Dalot: Nowhere to be seen for the first goal and easily out-muscled by Salah for the second. Failed to justify his selection after being picked ahead of the more attack-minded Alex Telles 4/10
Fernandes: There was a moment at the end of the first-half that summed up where both clubs are right now; Fernandes looked the 80-20 favourite to reach a loose ball ahead of Henderson but lost out easily. Petulantly kicked out at Alexander-Arnold to earn a yellow late on 3/10
Matic: Announced that he would be leaving the club after five years in the summer and it certainly looks as though his time at the top end of the Premier League is over 4/10
Pogba: Hobbled off after just 10 minutes and was greeted to a similarly frosty reception from the United fans as after Saturday’s win against Norwich. Could be his final appearance in United’s colours 5/10
Elanga: Not involved at all in the first-half but as with the rest of United’s players gradually grew into the contest as it progressed 5/10
Rashford: Absolutely starved of service in the first-half but allowed Liverpool to build from the back far too easily, failing to press Van Dijk or Matip sufficiently. Missed a big chance to reduce the deficit in the second half 5/10
Subs:
Lingard: Introduced ahead of Sancho for Pogba early on but made little impact 5/10
Sancho: Registered United’s first shot of any description in the 54th minute and his energy and directness made a huge difference to his side. Was guilty of wasting a couple of decent opportunities 7/10
Mejbri: Charged into a foul on Mane to earn some praise from Gary Neville. Didn’t have much time to make an impact 6/10
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