Erik ten Hag blasted his “unprofessional” Manchester United side after they were completely humiliated by Liverpool.
The Reds romped to their biggest-ever win over their bitter North West rivals with an astonishing 7-0 Premier League triumph at Anfield on Sunday afternoon.
Cody Gakpo, Darwin Nunez and Mohamed Salah all scored twice before substitute Roberto Firmino capped the rout to inflict a defeat that matched the heaviest-ever in United’s 145-year history.
PAUL GORST VERDICT: Liverpool blow United away as Ten Hag fumes in moment TV cameras didn't show
IAN DOYLE RATINGS: Liverpool player ratings as two men score perfect 10 against Man United
READ MORE: Why Jurgen Klopp fumed on touchline after Liverpool made it 7-0
And ten Hag, whose team succeeded Liverpool as League Cup winners last weekend, was left angry by his team’s performance.
“The result is obvious – it’s unprofessional,” he said. “It’s a huge difference to Brentford (in August), we were 4-0 down at half-time then.
“Today in the first half I thought we were the better team and created the better chances. We had two one-on-ones with the goalie and then before half-time we made one mistake with organisation and conceded a goal.
“We were in the game. It was really a surprise for me after half-time that we so quickly gave the game away. The first two goals were defensive transition moments. We made some bad decisions.
“How we conceded the goal for the second was really annoying. The third was a counter and we were so unprofessional with the decisions. We were moving forward and giving the space away, and not tracking back. Then it’s 3-0 and the game is lost.”
Ten Hag added: “Then as a team you have to stick together and that’s what we didn’t do. It was a surprise for me. I haven’t seen this from my team. I don’t think it’s us. I don’t think it’s Manchester United. It’s really bad and poor.
“Look at the body language and the communication between each other. We didn’t cope with it together. We didn’t fulfil our jobs.
“But I know this team, we will reset and we have to bounce back. We have shown in the past we can.”
While Liverpool are now only seven points United and have moved up to fifth in the Premier League table, the shocking reverse dealt a huge blow to the Old Trafford side embarking on a late run for the title.
And asked what annoyed him the most about the embarrassing defeat, Ten Hag said: “Many things made me angry. To concede too easily the goals was definitely one of them.
“I have had some bad days but there are days where if you do the right things and react with the right measures as a manager and as a team, then you can learn a lot from it and strengthen your mentality.
“We’ve had so many good results in the last weeks and months and so many good performances, but this was a really bad performance. But in the first half I think our time played really well and decent.”
READ NEXT:
Liverpool just beat Man United to transfer that makes 7-0 destruction even worse
Rio Ferdinand prediction backfires spectacularly after Liverpool eviscerate Man United
'I'll go in hard' - Roy Keane gives brutal verdict on Man United after Liverpool win
What TV cameras caught Sir Alex Ferguson doing at Anfield as Liverpool destroy Man United
What Liverpool did to beat Man United to Cody Gakpo as inside story of £40m transfer emerges
