Ralf Rangnick insisted Manchester United were six years away from being on terms with Liverpool, but new manager Erik ten Hag has wasted no time proving his predecessor wrong.
The gulf between United and Liverpool last season was clear for all to see, with the Anfield club winning 5-0 at Old Trafford towards the end of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's tenure before claiming a 4-0 home win when interim boss Rangnick was in the United dugout.
At the time of that second game, Rangnick was unwilling to mask his disappointment at the heavy loss. However, his comments about the time needed to close the gap to those at the top of the table have been called into question by the form shown under Ten Hag.
"It is embarrassing, it is disappointing, maybe even humiliating," Rangnick said after his team was beaten in April 2022. Jurgen Klopp's side were 2-0 up inside 25 minutes through Luis Diaz and Mohamed Salah, and added two more goals in the second half.
"We have to accept they (Liverpool) are six years ahead of us now. When Jurgen Klopp came, they changed at the club and lifted not just the team but the club and city to a new level. That is what needs to happen with us in the next transfer windows."
When Rangnick made way for Ten Hag at the end of the 2021-22 season, the new manager had the task of making up a 34-point deficit on their fierce rivals. It is United sitting clear of Liverpool this term, though, and the gap will still stand at eight points even if Klopp's team win their two games in hand.
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United beat Liverpool 2-1 in August in their first meeting under Ten Hag, with Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford finding the net. The England international pair were also on target against Leicester on Sunday, with Rashford scoring the first two in a 3-0 victory.
The victory takes the Red Devils within three points of second-place Manchester City, who drew 1-1 at Nottingham Forest on Saturday. League-leaders Arsenal are only five points in front of Ten Hag's side, though they have a game in hand.
United's 23 points from 10 games since the World Cup is more than any other side in the Premier League. What's more, their 27 victories in all competitions - seven more than they managed throughout the 2021-22 season - cannot be matched by any team in any of Europe's big five leagues.
Not only are United flying high in the league, they are also very much alive in all three cup competitions. A 2-2 draw away to Barcelona leaves their Europa League play-off tie hanging in the balance, while they will take on West Ham at home in the fifth round of the FA Cup after eliminating them at the same stage of the competition in 2021.
While those two trophies will be handed out a few months down the line, Ten Hag and Co. could get their hands on silverware before the end of February. United have reached the final of the EFL Cup after conceding just twice along the way, and victory over Newcastle will bring a first trophy since 2017.
