There was a prime of moments that confirmed Manchester United’s humiliation against Liverpool.
Maybe it came with Mohamed Salah completing his chapeau instrumentality by the 50th minute. Or successful the celebrations arsenic Liverpool defender Andy Robertson was heard repeatedly shouting “Keep going” astatine his teammates erstwhile they were already 5-0 up showing nary mercy.
Or determination was the show of Alex Ferguson shaking his head, sighing successful the Old Trafford directors’ container astatine seeing the shambles unfolding successful the squad helium erstwhile led to truthful overmuch glory. Close by was his one-time Liverpool managerial adversary, Kenny Dalglish, beaming successful delight.
Fewer United fans were determination to witnesser the last embers of the embarrassment unfolding connected Sunday, having already booed the players disconnected astatine halftime.
Once Paul Pogba — United’s lone alteration erstwhile trailing 4-0 astatine halftime for the archetypal clip successful a Premier League lucifer — was sent disconnected for a lunging tackle with 30 minutes remaining, the location fans started streaming away. Hundreds could beryllium seen already extracurricular of the stadium, heading location to permission a country of an epic humbling.
Inside each the singing was coming from the visiting Liverpool section, mostly to taunt Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
“Ole’s astatine the wheel,” they sang, mockingly adopting the lauding of the manager adopted by United aft being utilized by erstwhile subordinate Rio Ferdinand.
“Ole, springiness america a wave,” they urged.
How overmuch longer aft this 5-0 rout until United waves goodbye to a manager who has benefited from much than $500 cardinal successful subordinate spending successful 3 years but looks acold from delivering a archetypal Premier League trophy since the status of Ferguson successful 2013 aft collecting his 13th? Even Liverpool has won the rubric much recently, successful 2020, to extremity a 30-year drought.
Solskjaer was the biggest gamble by the owning Glazer household of the post-Ferguson appointments — David Moyes, Louis van Gaal and Jose Mourinho — fixed his deficiency of acquisition coaching an elite club, gaining this occupation based connected his presumption arsenic a title-winning subordinate nether the Scot.
There’s lone truthful overmuch that nostalgia tin shield you from the brutal assessments astatine a nine without a trophy since Mourinho won the Europa League successful 2017.
“We cognize we are stone bottom," Solskjaer said. “It can't consciousness immoderate worse than this.”
Not adjacent the instrumentality of Cristiano Ronaldo from the Ferguson glory years has engineered a resurgence. Late comebacks person masked the cracks, similar Ronaldo grabbing a precocious victor against Atalanta successful the Champions League connected Wednesday.
Ronaldo did enactment the shot successful the nett against Liverpool, lone for VAR to scrub it retired for offside. The 36-year-old returning leader was besides fortunate not to beryllium dismissed for petulance, doubly kicking the shot into the midriff of Curtis Jones erstwhile the whistle had blown and the Liverpool midfielder was connected the turf.
“The full show was not bully enough," Solskjaer said. “I person travel excessively far, we person travel excessively acold arsenic a group. We are excessively adjacent to springiness up now."
Given the further concern successful the squad implicit the past year, this rout feels adjacent much crushing for Solskjaer than the 6-1 implosion against Tottenham present past October.
United’s defence was wholly tally ragged against Liverpool, conceding aft 5 minutes. It was a country of abject failings that Solskjaer has consistently provided small grounds helium tin rectify.
Salah had conscionable received the walk from Roberto Firmino. To his near was Robertson. To his right, Naby Keita. Only Luke Shaw was successful beforehand of them arsenic the past enactment of United resistance. The shot was enactment done by Salah to Keita who slotted past David De Gea.
It was Diogo Jota who slid successful to stab the shot implicit the enactment successful the 13th from Trent Alexander-Arnold’s transverse aft a muddle betwixt Harry Maguire and Shaw.
The archetypal of Salah’s goals -- allowing the striker to people successful a 10th successive Liverpool crippled -- came aft his changeable was initially blocked by Maguire. The escaped shot fell to Keita who chopped it backmost for Salah to onslaught precocious into the net.
And conscionable earlier the halftime whistle blew, Salah was capable to nonstop United successful astatine the interruption connected the receiving extremity of different portion of misery aft sidefooting successful from Jota’s pass.
Whatever Solskjaer said astatine the interruption didn’t alteration anything. Five minutes into the 2nd half, Jordan Henderson sliced done the defence with a walk from the halfway enactment that Salah ran onto earlier clipping past De Gea.
The lone astonishment was that United didn’t concede again, adjacent aft Pogba's red-card lunge connected Keita aft 15 minutes connected the field. The hosts had suffered enough. Nine games into the season, the grounds 20-time English champions are already 7 points down Liverpool successful 2nd spot with Chelsea a further constituent distant successful the lead.
It’s not similar United hasn’t been embarrassed similar this earlier Solskjaer. It’s astir 10 years to the time since Manchester City won 6-1 astatine Old Trafford. But Ferguson’s broadside had won the rubric a fewer months earlier. And Liverpool is deemed a greater rival than United's neighbor.
What could prevention Solskjaer is the fans are yet to crook connected him, contempt collecting 1 constituent from the past 4 league games.
“We apologize to the fans," Maguire said. “It’s obscurity adjacent bully enough.”
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