At the end of what was a dismal night for his former team at Anfield, Manchester United legend Gary Neville was left clutching at straws for something to be 'proud' of.
Liverpool coasted to a 4-0 win on Tuesday to go back to the top of the table, with the Red Devils turning in one of their worst performances of the Premier League era at Anfield.
As the game wound down United made their final substitution, with manager Ralf Rangnick giving youngster Hannibal Mejbri a run out with the clock expiring.
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The 19-year-old had a tough few minutes, losing the ball in a dangerous area before Liverpool's fourth goal and fortunately avoiding a second yellow card for a rash challenge.
Despite his erratic cameo, speaking on the Sky Sports broadcast the former United defender said he liked what he saw from Mejbri, especially when compared to the passive performances turned in by other senior members of the squad.
"It takes a young kid to come on and show the rest of them how to sprint for the ball and put a challenge in," he said. "I'm actually proud of him! Maybe he doesn't like the idea of Liverpool players passing it round him. I wish the rest of them were the same."
In the studio after the game, Neville added further context to his in-game comments.
"That is why I aired on to the slightly unprofessional side of commentary tonight when I said that the kid (Mejbri) to be fair I was proud of him because he was going round trying to top people and trying to kick people. But he demonstrated something, he showed something.
"He didn’t like the idea of Liverpool, at Anfield, passing it around him and the idea of Liverpool taking the mick out of him and his team-mates. At least he demonstrated something. I am not saying it is brilliant because he could have hurt the Liverpool players, but as a Manchester United fan you can respond to that."
Neville offering praise for flashes of enthusiasm represent an indication of just how pathetic United were on the night and in the final stages of the game the ex-England international lamented how big the gap had become between the two north-west rivals.
"It's a decade of repeated failure and that's not good enough," he said. "...Man Utd have got everyone in the country expected tonight. Really in a poor place. The end of the season can't come quick enough. Liverpool are top of their form and it was always going to be difficult. This is a broken Man Utd squad in this moment in time. It's on the edge, that's for sure."
Despite their rotten recent form, United remain in the top-four conversation and face a crucial contest against struggling Arsenal on Saturday lunchtime.
