Liverpool

Erik ten Hag said it himself; Manchester United's 7-0 thrashing at Anfield was a "reality check." But the result might just work in his favour.

[Diogo Dalot](http://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/238902/Diogo-Dalot) nor [Aaron Wan-Bissaka](http://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/250945/Aaron-Wan-Bissaka) are capable of taking United to the next level, but both players have improved thanks to the work done by Ten Hag and his coaches on the training ground. Ten Hag pushed United hard to sign Antony from [Ajax](/football/team?id=139) in the summer, so he will persevere with the [Brazil](/football/team?id=205) international, but his return of just three goals and no assists so far in the Premier League should be a concern. But the lack of alternatives -- a consequence of United's flawed recruitment in recent years -- left Ten Hag having to compromise his team by playing Rashford through the middle, [Bruno Fernandes](http://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/124091/Bruno-Fernandes) wide left and [Wout Weghorst](http://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/177042/Wout-Weghorst) in the No. But it is against the top teams, in the most difficult circumstances, that the truth about a team and its players emerges. [World Cup](/football/league/_/name/FIFA.WORLD), largely when he has played in his favoured role on the left, and he rarely shines quite so brightly when he is asked to operate through the middle. Rashford's recent spree of 17 goals in 21 games has masked United's lack of goal threat, but his failure to trouble Liverpool was a warning sign that Ten Hag needs to find somebody to share the burden. [Antony](http://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/315294/Antony) to make a difference for United in the biggest games, and those doubts only grew with their respective performances against Liverpool. [Marcus Rashford](http://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/230945/Marcus-Rashford) playing as a No. United were never likely to surge from third place to top spot in the Premier League this term, despite the morale boost of ending a six-year trophy drought, although they might yet add the FA Cup and Europa League to the Carabao Cup. ](/football/manchester-united-engman_utd/story/4893829/manchester-united-given-reality-check-by-liverpool) But as the dust settles on a defeat that equals United's biggest-ever losing margin, the result might just work in Ten Hag's favour. United have made great strides under Ten Hag, but Liverpool exposed the reality that there are still gaping holes to be filled at Old Trafford. Yet, seven days later, they experienced a defeat even worse than the nadir of last season, when Liverpool's two Premier League wins against their old rivals amounted to a 9-0 aggregate scoreline.

Liverpool hand Manchester United their worst loss since well before World War II, with a 7-0 drubbing at Anfield that could change the make-up of the top ...

"A really tough day for Man United and thank goodness I have never been part of losing like that. And that was a surprise for me. It was 6-0 when Salah scored in the 83rd and substitute Firmino stepped off the bench to score in the 88th. So it's really bad and poor." And that is what we didn't do. Only a week after winning the League Cup, United experienced their biggest defeat in the Premier League and the club's joint-worst loss in all competitions.

How does Liverpool's humbling of United compare to the largest scores in the major local derbies and historic rivalries between Europe's top clubs?

Another comparatively young European rivalry that was first contested in 1971, Paris Saint-Germain have come out on top in both of the top-scoring victories on record to date. Dating from 1909, there have been 235 official iterations of the Derby della Madonnina with Inter winning the lion's share (87 compared to Milan's 79) over the ensuing years. The biggest-ever winning margin in El Clasico came during the 1942-43 Copa del Rey when Real steamrollered their Catalan rivals to win by an astounding 10 goals. The biggest winning margin in an official fixture between the two sides came in 1919 as Real beat their cross-city foes 5-0 in the Campeonato Regional Centro, a long-defunct competition contested among clubs from the Castile region of Spain. First contested in 1881, United have been on the wrong end of the two biggest scorelines in Manchester derby history, with City cantering to victory on both occasions, 85 years apart. Indeed, it was also Liverpool's largest win in their long-standing rivalry that dates back to 1894, and almost 250 fixtures.

Cody Gakpo was the star of the show as Liverpool hammered Manchester United 7-0 on a momentous afternoon at Anfield.

Having scored four and five against United in the league last season, Liverpool somehow went not one, but two better this time. On a quite remarkable day, the thrashing represents the biggest winning margin ever in the fixture, beating the record set all the way back in October 1895, when the sides were competing in the Second Division. Liverpool’s Champions League hopes are very much alive and kicking after they sensationally tore high-flying Manchester United apart on a historic afternoon at Anfield.

Liverpool brought Manchester United crashing down to earth in a stunning 7-0 rout at Anfield overnight.

Gakpo put Liverpool ahead in the 43rd minute when collecting Andrew Robertson’s pass. READ MORE:

A pitch invader who collided with the Liverpool players celebrating their seventh goal against Manchester United and nearly injured Andy Robertson has been ...

These acts are dangerous, illegal and have severe consequences." "There is no excuse for this unacceptable and dangerous behaviour. Register for free to Reuters and know the full story

A pitch invader who nearly injured Andy Robertson in Liverpool's win over Manchester United will be banned from Anfield for life, the club said.

Liverpool next play away at relegation-threatened [Bournemouth](/football/team?id=349) on Saturday. These acts are dangerous, illegal and have severe consequences." [Liverpool](/football/team?id=364) players celebrating their seventh goal against [Manchester United](/football/team?id=360) and nearly injured [Andy Robertson](http://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/104943/Andy-Robertson) will be identified and banned from Anfield for life, the [Premier League](/football/league/_/name/ENG.1) club said on Monday.

Jurgen Klopp called Mohammed Salah becoming Liverpool's new Premier League record scorer "really special" after Sunday's win over Manchester United.

"It was one of the best performances for a long, long time," Klopp said. This is one of my best days of my life, and I broke the record that I was seeking from the time I came to the club," Salah said. "It's really, really special and we should not forget that just because we are used to him scoring a lot of goals," Klopp said of the Egyptian. That's what the plan is." "We entered the match, and our goal was to win. "A few months ago everyone thought it was a good moment to play Liverpool -- you can't say it publicly, but everyone thought it -- because they felt we were struggling a lot, but now it is less of a good moment, we look more like ourselves," Klopp said.

As Trent Alexander-Arnold left the field, he gazed up at the joyous scenes in the Main Stand and raised seven fingers in celebration.

[Fabinho](https://theathletic.com/football/player/fabinho-B4oErnzfMBHwkivn/) after a torrid spell. But it should silence some of the nonsense about a complete overhaul being required. To score two apiece in a game of such magnitude will only help push them on to the next level. His team-mates raced to share the moment with him. Only one Brazilian holding midfielder shone at Anfield and it certainly wasn’t [Casemiro](https://theathletic.com/football/player/casemiro-wQ6Q8xViV8kqizDc/). However, the outpouring of emotion that followed Liverpool’s seventh was cranked up another level. You can see the value of time spent on the training field. They complement each other so well and have provided the kind of leadership and composure that was previously missing. His team were blunt at one end and horribly vulnerable at the other. It also equalled United’s heaviest defeat, sitting alongside their other 7-0 hidings at the hands of We’ve never seen the like before and are unlikely to ever do so again. The word defeat doesn’t begin to do justice to what transpired.

Manchester United suffered the club's worst-ever Premier League defeat as they succumbed to a 7-0 loss against Liverpool at Anfield.

GOAL rates the Manchester United players from their worst-ever result at Anfield... Manchester United produced one of the most shocking performances of their entire history, and in one of their best periods in the last decade, as they were thrashed by Liverpool at Anfield. To tell the truth, they were fortunate to only concede seven, while they were also toothless in attack, with Antony frequently slowing the team's play down.

Virgil van Dijk believes it is impossible to overstate Mo Salah's importance to Liverpool after the striker's record-breaking contribution to the 7-0 win ...

“He’s been so influential for this club and he should definitely be remembered as one of the legends.” “That position of a false 9 is Bobby Firmino’s,” Van Dijk said. He will be fine for this club; he’s a fantastic player.” “The winter’s a difficult time for any player to come into any club but he’s settling in very well. “The front three are very clinical. “For him to be the all-time Premier League top scorer for Liverpool is something no one should take for granted.

'Full hairdryer treatment': Man Utd boss' brutal spray after record rout as ice-cold move revealed.

‘It was the full hairdryer treatment. “Our insider said: ‘Ten Hag was livid. “We have a duty to this club, a responsibility to represent the badge, but we have many opportunities to look ahead, many games coming fast and we have to lock our focus on these.” [Sky Sports](https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11095/12827268/how-erik-ten-hag-gave-manchester-united-dressing-down-after-liverpool-humiliation-at-anfield): “The message he shared to the squad was peppered with more colourful language that can’t be repeated, which translated to “a disgrace.”” [The Mirror ](https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/ten-hag-man-utd-punishment-29386415)wrote: “A United source said: ‘Ten Hag was obviously furious and told them they were lucky to be getting on the team bus back to Old Trafford and not made to travel back with the fans. After the game he was straight down the tunnel, and as soon as the players got into the changing room he ripped into them. [The Sun](https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/21609643/erik-ten-hag-man-utd-hairdryer/), Ten Hag was understandably “the angriest he’s ever been”.

After a clobbering like Liverpool's 7-0 win over Man United, what's a manager to do? Why are Real Madrid in trouble? ESPN's Gab Marcotti weighs in.

[Robert Lewandowski](http://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/125824/Robert-Lewandowski), [Pedri](http://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/250465/Pedri), [Gavi](http://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/323702/Gavi) and [Ousmane Dembele](http://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/229744/Ousmane-Dembélé) are Barcelona without four of their five most gifted players. Other than a few uncharacteristic wobbles (and a generous penalty, which [Ivan Rakitic](http://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/102251/Ivan-Rakitic) missed), Atletico were rarely threatened. [Serge Gnabry](http://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/178980/Serge-Gnabry) and Joao Cancelo out of the starting lineup). [Thibaut Courtois](http://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/134283/Thibaut-Courtois) who had to come up big on two occasions (denying [Borja Iglesias](http://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/214995/Borja-Iglesias) and [Ayoze Perez](http://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/192133/Ayoze-Pérez)). A [Wesley Fofana](http://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/270190/Wesley-Fofana) header had given Chelsea the lead -- greeted by fans mockingly singing "We scored a goal" -- and he wasn't going to relinquish it. And why did [Manuel Locatelli](http://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/217538/Manuel-Locatelli) come off for, ahem, [Leandro Paredes](http://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/153115/Leandro-Paredes)? They were somewhat absent-minded on the pitch, failing to close out the game when they had a chance, allowing Nantes to equalize twice (Gigio Donnarumma's poor day at the office had a lot to do with it) and then getting it done at the end. And when the two biggest stars, [Karim Benzema](http://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/46858/Karim-Benzema) and [Vinicius](http://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/257039/Vinicius), have off days, it gets really tough to find a way through. But Chelsea (especially this version) isn't Brighton, and Potter isn't the Potter of old (at least right now). Then there's [Kylian Mbappe](http://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/231388/Kylian-Mbappé), making history (again) in Paris. [Cody Gakpo](http://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/249524/Cody-Gakpo)'s opener in the 43rd minute, the game had been a relatively close-fought affair that felt as if it could have gone either way. In [LaLiga](/football/league/_/name/ESP.1), [Barcelona](/football/team?id=83) snuck a win over [Valencia](/football/team?id=94) while [Real Madrid](/football/team?id=86) were frustrated by [Real Betis](/football/team?id=244), results that give Xavi & Co.