The runners-up of the last Premier League, Manchester United have suffered a humiliating 5-0 thrashing at home against long-time rivals Liverpool this Sunday piling up pressure on Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. The win, which takes United to seventh in the league, moves Liverpool to second behind Chelsea following an astonishing display of management, coaching, and tactics under Jürgen Klopp who has managed to gather his 200th win as manager in fewer games than any other Reds boss.
Liverpool’s Naby Keita opened the scoring with the first goal just 5 minutes into the game followed by Diogo Jota doubling the lead at 13’. It was a historic day for Liverpool’s star Mohamed Salah as he scored a hat-trick at either side of the halftime assisted by Keita and Henderson. Salah has now scored 14 goals in just 10 games in all competitions this season becoming the first opposition player to score three goals at Old Trafford since Cristiano Ronaldo for Real Madrid in 2003, and the first-ever to do so in the Premier League.
The top-notch performance by Liverpool was light years ahead of Manchester United in every aspect of the game. As Ian Wright has critiqued, the Reds were “expertly coached” and “a million miles away” from Manchester United making this their biggest victory at Old Trafford.
While Roberto Firmino didn’t get on the scoresheet, he certainly played his part in delivering a crushing victory for Liverpool. Alexander Arnold and Virgil Van Dijk showcased excellent footwork and assists along with a terrific pass by the captain Henderson for Salah’s third goal leading the Reds to break records as this was the first time Man Utd lost by a five-plus margin at home since February 1955. It also marks as the ninth match for Man Utd without a clean sheet since September 1970 and February 1971 where they had their longest run of 10 matches without one.
Manchester United had injury doubts prior to the game over Bruno Fernandes, Fred, and Marcus Rashford as the trio sustained knocks during the Champions League tie against Atalanta on Wednesday. The center-back Raphael Varane also remained absent with a groin injury. The team showcased a lack of confidence and planning and encountered total humiliation after getting dismantled at the hands of Liverpool. Fans are demanding the removal of the MUFC boss, Ole Solskjaer, after witnessing Man Utd’s heaviest home defeat since Oct 2020 when they lost 1-6 against Tottenham.
This performance titled as Man Utd’s biggest embarrassment yet is likely to be one of the darkest days in the careers of the players and management both. While a strong defense is key to winning leagues, United’s defense is highly in question as they were so easy to penetrate leading Liverpool to score 4-0 at the end of the first half. The captain Harry Maguire seemed in terrible shape himself and the two center-backs had their positioning horribly wrong with Maguire and Shaw colliding into each other before the second goal.
While we saw some stunning saves from De Gea and effort by Rashford and Cavani, the 20-year-old Mason Greenwood also served a swerving strike to land United’s first shot on target on 29 minutes before being substituted for Paul Pogba who managed to make the disastrous performance even worse. After seeing a red card for a high tackle on Keita, who was taken off on a stretcher, Pogba was sent off 15 minutes into the second half leaving Man United 10 sided. Cristiano Ronaldo who had a goal disallowed by VAR due to offside also controversially escaped a red card in the first half after lashing out at Curtis Jones.
This display of inept defending, questionable tactics, and disorganized performance falls heavily on their manager, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who is facing calls to resign from his position. With 3 years in charge and still no teamwork, #OleOut has been trending on Twitter as many Manchester United fans are demanding the club to replace Solskjaer with the legendary French football player Zinedine Zidane. Others like Antonio Conte and Brendan Rodgers have also been linked to a possible takeover.
While the Norwegian said the loss is his “darkest day” as manager and described Sunday’s game as “rock bottom”, he seems confident about his future at the club saying he has “come too far to give up”. When asked if he still had the backing of the board in his post-match press conference, Solskjaer replied that he is taking the club in the right direction and that “we have to look forward and make sure we go into the next training session and the next game with the right frame of mind against Tottenham.” Ole is credited with finishing top four in the Premier League for consecutive seasons but the pressure on him is higher than ever as it seems rather difficult for Manchester United to make a comeback having conceded 11 goals in three games and sitting eight points off the top of the league in just nine games.
