Merseyside outfit Liverpool showed the entire opposition in the top-flight on why they remain a force to be reckoned with, after they annihilated visiting Manchester United 7-0 in their Premier League Matchday 26 encounter at Anfield on Sunday night.
The first half saw the Red Devils spurn a few goalscoring opportunities particularly from Marcus Rashford and Bruno Fernandes but the tie turned on its head as January signing Cody Gakpo poked home to open the scoring for the Reds.
If the first half was anything to go by, the second period turned out to be something out of the ordinary. Darwin Nunez found the back of the net twice, same as Mo Salah while Cody Gakpo completed his brace to put the scoreline beyond doubt.
There was even space for one more additional goal as Roberto Firmino struck in the 89th minute in what proved to be a record victory for Liverpool over Manchester United in the English top-flight.
Victory sees Liverpool close the gap between themselves and the Champions League places to three points, while Egyptian forward Mo Salah is the club’s all-time Premier League goalscorer and fourth in the club’s history.
🔴 Live Blog:
FULL-TIME AT ANFIELD: Liverpool 7-0 Manchester United
89′ MIN: It gets even better for Liverpool! Roberto Firmino slides a finish in from close range for the Reds’ seventh.
GOOOAAALLL!!! Liverpool 7-0 Manchester United (R. Firmino)
83′ MIN: Mo Salah pounces from close range to make it six, and becomes Liverpool’s all-time leading PL goalscorer in the process.
GOOOAAALLL!!! Liverpool 6-0 Manchester United (M. Salah)
75′ MIN: Liverpool are in dream land! Darwin Nunez doubles his tally by leaping high and glancing a header into the far corner.
GOOOAAALLL!!! Liverpool 5-0 Manchester United (D. Nunez)
66′ MIN: Mohamed Salah, take a bow! The ball drops to the Egyptian on the edge of the penalty area, and Salah lashes it in off the crossbar.
GOOOAAALLL!!! Liverpool 4-0 Manchester United (M. Salah)
51′ MIN: A stunning third for Liverpool! Mohamed Salah turns Lisandro Martinez inside out, plays in Cody Gakpo, and the Dutchman dinks over David De Gea.
GOOOAAALLL!!! Liverpool 3-0 Manchester United (C. Gakpo)
47′ MIN: Liverpool double their lead minutes after the restart! It’s Darwin Nunez this time, heading home Harvey Elliott’s cross.
GOOOAAALLL!!! Liverpool 2-0 Manchester United (D. Nunez)
SECOND HALF UNDERWAY AT ANFIELD: Liverpool 1-0 Manchester United
HALF-TIME AT ANFIELD: Liverpool 1-0 Manchester United
43′ MIN: Cody Gakpo cuts inside from the left and whips a fine finish into the far corner to leave David De Gea rooted to the spot.
GOOOAAALLL!!! Liverpool 1-0 Manchester United (C. Gakpo)
KICK-OFF AT ANFIELD: Liverpool 0-0 Manchester United
Liverpool’s recent upturn in fortunes have revived their hopes of finishing in the Champions League places. The Reds are on a four-game unbeaten streak in the top-flight (W3, D1), keeping a clean sheet in all four of those outings are coming into this tie having seen off Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-0 at Anfield last time out to move up to sixth position on the log.
Jurgen Klopp’s side have been resolute in defence of late, restricting their rivals to only a single goal and going unbeaten in the last seven home H2Hs (W4, D3).
As for United, they have scored in 28 consecutive matches, including each of their last 15 in the PL which serves as the longest current scoring run in the league. With that type of offensive output, it’s little surprise that no PL side has earned more points than the Red Devils’ 23 (W7, D2, L1) since the World Cup, and they’ve not only taken a stranglehold on third-place, but also secured the Carabao Cup crown last weekend.
Already in possession of the most PL doubles over Liverpool, a win here for Erik ten Hag’s troops would see United extend that record to nine after their 2-1 victory in August. Their defensive discipline could be the ultimate decider of that though, and that’s not something United have showcased too often given 20 of their 28 PL goals conceded this campaign have come on the road.
Mohamed Salah’s ten goals vs United is the most by any Liverpool player, largely thanks to scoring a mammoth nine goals across his last five H2H outings.
Meanwhile, Marcus Rashford has been in the form of his life lately, scoring ten goals in his last ten league matches, and another here would see him join club elites Ruud van Nistelrooy, Eric Cantona and Cristiano Ronaldo as the only United players to score in six successive PL matches.
Also, there has been goals scored in both halves in nine of the last eleven head-to-head matches.
Apex Football News 