Pundit Ian Wright has warned that Manchester United cannot play like they did against Norwich City when they face Liverpool on Tuesday night.
The Manchester club clinched a 3-2 victory over relegation-bound Norwich as Cristiano Ronaldo scored late to secure the win. The Canaries came from two goals down to draw level in the second half.
Ronaldo kept United's top four hopes alive, but it was far from a straightforward performance at Old Trafford and former Arsenal man Wright has warned that Liverpool would punish them.
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He told Premier League productions: "If he [Ronaldo] wasn’t at Manchester United they would be nowhere near where they are now. That’s what you pay for and he’s delivered. He’s amazing, amazing.
"We’re talking about a team at the bottom of the league [Norwich] who gave United two goals today, literally. And they’re still able to open United up. If United play like that against Liverpool they’re going to get absolutely hammered."
United will know all too well how clinical Liverpool can be, having suffered a 5-0 defeat at the hands of Jurgen Klopp's men earlier in the campaign. Now, they meet at Anfield and the Reds will need to beat their Manchester rivals to keep the pace in the title race.
Ex-United star Owen Hargreaves added: "United fans will know they can be so poor. It was too easy for Norwich at times, it was crazy. The difference between teams like Man City and Liverpool and teams like United is everyone works, even the attacking players. You see the effort they put in for City and Liverpool.
"United had six players out there at the front who took no part in the game defensively. They cannot play like that at Anfield."