Manchester United suffered their second humiliating defeat of the season against Liverpool on Tuesday night.
Ralf Rangnick's men were thoroughly second best as Jurgen Klopp's side ran riot at Anfield. Luis Diaz, Sadio Mane and a brace from Mo Salah secured a comfortable victory that moved the Merseyside club back to the top of the Premier League.
Defeat for United meant they missed the chance to close the gap on fourth placed Tottenham and dropped down to sixth after their goal difference received a hammering. The national media were quick to criticise United after the humbling loss. Here's what they said:
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Liverpool's one-sided demolition - The Mirror
"It was the body language of every Manchester United player which told the whole, shocking story.
"At half time, as they waited for referee Martin Atkinson to sort out his equipment, there was the faraway stare of the shellshocked trenchman, the noise from the big guns of the Kop glazing the eyes. None looked at each other, or towards the opposition which had tormented them through surely the most one-sided first half in living memory between these two giants of world football.
"And no wonder, because they had been tortured - and that is the correct word - by the sound of small explosions at every turn, all around them. To continue the war analogy which it surely must have felt like, they were outflanked by a superior general with modern methods."
Rampant Reds hit four past hopeless visitors - Daily Mail
"Liverpool 9 Manchester United 0. Not on the night, obviously. That's an aggregate score, over two league games, another rewriting of the record books, both good and bad.
"Good for Liverpool, naturally, having never beaten a club called Manchester United by this margin in one season. They defeated Newton Heath this way in 1895-96, and that club evolved to become the modern Manchester United so, again, it depends on how one views history.
"Still, green and gold is increasingly popular around Old Trafford these days, so maybe this was the United's players own tribute to it. As for the modern era, no team has ever put eight past United in two Premier League matches, let alone nine - and that includes the Manchester City team that won 6-1 at Old Trafford in 2011-12. They only won 1-0 in the return."
United's latest footnote in tale of decline - The Independent
"The whole point of damage limitation strategies is to limit the damage. A quarter of the game gone, two goals down, Ralf Rangnick’s decision to go on the defensive had backfired long before, in a public acceptance he had got it wrong, he reversed tack.
" Manchester United, who have scored two goals at Anfield in Jurgen Klopp’s reign, had conceded two in 21 minutes. By the end, United were perhaps relieved the margin of defeat was only four: one fewer than in their previous humiliation at the hands of Liverpool.
"Defensive tactics had not brought frugality. A manager who, like Klopp, had helped usher German football out of the era of a back five had begun with five defenders for the first time in his reign at United. The experiment lasted 45 ignominious minutes, curtailed in failure. An indication of United’s inferiority complex was followed by an illustration of their inferiority. They were cut open by Liverpool, their three centre-backs specialising in marking no one. It is supposed to be forwards who excel at finding space; it was an indictment of United’s defenders that they contrived to distance themselves from opponents when the goals were scored."
Salah torments Manchester United - The Guardian
"With the second-half restart delayed, bizarrely, while the referee, Martin Atkinson, had his microphone refitted, Manchester United’s players tried to stay on their toes by passing a ball about. The Kop responded with olés. It was a typically caustic judgment but one that felt entirely appropriate.
"To borrow another line from the Liverpool support, their arch rivals hardly touched the ball during what was another chastening defeat. After the 5-0 Old Trafford shellacking back in October, this was another occasion that showed Liverpool to be on an altogether different plane.
"United were a shambles, especially in the first half, their defeat inevitable from the moment that Luis Díaz gave Liverpool an early lead and they were on their knees when Mohamed Salah ran on to a pass from the substitute Diogo Jota to chip home the fourth in the final minutes."
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