The dazzling Liverpool suffered disastrous defeats for 10-man United; Mohammed Salah scored a hat-trick for Nabi Keita and Diogo Jota; Paul Pogba was sent off just 15 minutes on the pitch; and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was under pressure
United suffered one of the most humiliating defeats in recent memory as rivals Liverpool put pressure on Solskjaer 5-0, with Mohamed Salah scoring a hat-trick and Paul Pogba on the spot.
United's performance was simply a mess as Liverpool were taken aback by some incompetence in defence and problematic tactics, and five minutes later, Naby Keita scored with a low shot.
After poor communication between Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw, Diogo Jota converted the score to 2-0 (13) at the far post of Trent Alexander Arnold center to 2-0 (13) before Salah scored for the 10th consecutive game of all matches, from Keita's pass (38) to near post.
Salah celebrates with Virgil Van Dijk (right) after scoring his third goal against Manchester United at Liverpool
After Liverpool led Manchester United 2-0, Diogo Jota congratulated
Amid United's humiliation, Cristiano Ronaldo and Bruno Fernandez looked frustrated
According to Gary Neville's shared comments after recently criticizing Liverpool for lacking a front-court defence, United were "joking" by putting pressure on Liverpool, who scored their fourth goal through Salah's low post just before half-time, leaving a big hole in the backfield, precisely positioned from inside the box (45+5). The laughter that greeted United at half-time was deafening.
Salah then completed his hat-trick to overtake David De Gea from Henderson's brilliant pass (49) and the home team dropped to 10 as half-time substitute Pogba saw Keita's high tackle go red and Keita was sent off on stretcher (60).
Paul Pogba challenges Nabi Keita wildly
United somehow finished the game without causing more damage, but conceded 11 goals in three games and were 8 points behind in the Premier League table they promised to challenge after a busy summer window, putting solskjaer under pressure to solskjaer entirely – time high.
Liverpool are second after a dazzling performance and have remained unbeaten since May after Jurgen Klopp's 200th win as manager, reaching the milestone with fewer games than any other Reds boss.
How Liverpool completely humiliated Manchester United in their own backyard
For many, United's comeback victory against Atalanta on Wednesday masked the cracks, while Liverpool felt Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's weakness in an embarrassing 90 minutes for the hosts.
But they should have taken the lead in four minutes as Cristiano Ronaldo and Mason Greenwood combined to free Bruno Fernandez on the right side of the penalty area, but he opted to control the position and lashed out with only Alisson beating.
Keita did what Fernandez couldn't do a minute later because United's defence was easily cut. There are now only 21 games conceded in all games as Liverpool counter-attack through Roberto Firmino and Salah, who passed a very heavy ball to Keita in the space inside the box, while the midfielder allowed himself to slowly lower himself than De Gea.
The first 15 minutes were like a basketball game; Salah found space again but the shot was deflected, then Rashford saw his long-range shot deflected off and then Liverpool doubled their lead due to some poor defence from United.
Shaw and Maguire's missteps led to a hashing that allowed Keita to collect possession outside the penalty area and slide into Alexander Arnold when overlapping, with his centre-forward being converted to defender by the unguarded Jota. In fact, Liverpool were lining up, with Milner behind Jota preparing for a surprise attack.
United still have gaps – Luke Shaw's long-range shot is deflected and Greenwood himself forced Alisson to save – but their amazing defensive sensitivity is shown time and time again.
"United had some crazy moments," Neville said in a co-comment, which became clear again when Liverpool's half-time Rashford return pass was carried out at a certain angle in Salah. He entered the penalty area without objection, but in the end De Gea blocked him. "They're a crazy team," Neville rightly added.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Manchester United were even more embarrassed as Liverpool found room again in the last third to score a third goal. After Maguire blocked Salah's first shot, Keita pushed the ball into space, and Keita prepared a conversion for Salah at the near post, reacting faster than Maguire and Victor Lindelof.
United's incompetence turned grumpy before half-time – Ronaldo attacked Curtis Jones and Liverpool felt he had received too much of a yellow card – but soon went 4-0 as Salah again found space on the right side of the penalty area and fired a low shot into the bottom top right corner.
Manchester United fans expressed their feelings when the whistle sounded, booing long hours during one of the most one-sided performances seen at Old Trafford in recent decades, hundreds of whom had left the ground.
As the door to the exit opened and the floodgates opened, Salah completed his hat-trick and Henderson came on when he was blocked out of midfield. Salah is considered the best player in the world at the moment, leading De Gea in his 15th goal in 12 games this season.
United thought they had pulled back a city with Ronaldo's expert-level goal against Alexander Arnold, but VAR intervened and he was found offside.
A bad day for United was plenty of time to get worse, and it happened during the hour as Pogba's overzealous challenge against Keita was picked up by VAR – Anthony Taylor made him red just 15 minutes later on the pitch, but liverpool's day saw impressive Keita being carried off a stretcher with a suspected ankle injury and he was a little upset.
With 25 minutes left, the hundreds of people who left the ground on Sir Matt Busby's road had turned into thousands. "Can I go with them?" Neville said.
De Gea's superb save on Alexander Arnold's long-range shot sent the score down before substitute Cavani hit the crossbar for the hosts from close range before United's nightmare finally came to an end. For visiting fans, however, the party has only just begun.
"Ole is on the wheel," mocked Liverpool fans throughout the second half, while Jamie Carragher described United after the game as an "absolute mess". Doubts surrounding Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's long-term future will intensify as United are second tactically, physically and technically on this humiliating day at Old Trafford.
Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer:
"It's not easy to say something, except that it's the darkest day I've had since I've led these players. Neither of us individually or as a team is good enough. You can't give these opportunities to a team like Liverpool and unfortunately we did.
"The whole performance wasn't good enough, that's for sure. We created opportunities, they had opportunities, they were calm all the time, we didn't take chances early on. Then the third target is the one that decides the game.
"It's mine [responsible for failure] – that's it. The coaching staff was outstanding, I chose the way to approach the game and today we didn't have enough clinical progress. Both teams have space, and when you pay the players space, they score.
"You can look back at last season when we lost 6-1 to Tottenham – it was even worse. The same goes for the opponents, which makes my situation worse as a Manchester lad and we have to overcome that as soon as possible to move on. ”
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp:
"Did I expect that?" No. But our performance in the last third was absolutely crazy. How do we press them high, win the ball, score wonderful goals. I actually told them at halftime that we needed to play better!
"It turned out to be crazy. It will take a while if it happens again. I was told after the game that this had never happened in the long history of LFC and that this team wanted to create a new chapter in this great history, and tonight is a new chapter.
"But you have to understand these games correctly. We lost to Aston Villa, 7-0 or 8-0, anyway, I quickly forgot about those things, but it was high. You have to learn from it. We then smashed crystal palace once with a similar result, and then...
"When I analyse the game, I cut off the target and analyze the game. The results of the analysis are not interesting. We can play better football than we have and we have to stay more focused at certain moments.
"I'm happy because it's fantastic to be part of this team. Winning 5-0 is fantastic. ”