Considering the way Liverpool and Manchester United entered Sunday’s showdown at Old Trafford, the long-awaited match could have gone in many directions. It could have shown that Liverpool may not be as solid as their record might indicate. He could have shown that Manchester United really turned a corner, and that the second half of Wednesday’s dramatic loss to Atalanta in the Champions League was more emblematic of their position compared to the first half.
Instead, he confirmed what has largely become clearer and clearer: Liverpool are every contender they hope to be, with the fittest player in the world as their driving force, while Man United is a flawed team whose coach doesn’t. It seems. it will probably do so beyond November if the property is putting an emphasis on performance and results.
Liverpool’s 5-0 loss was a complete dismantling, with the visitors scoring twice in the first 13 minutes before Mohamed Salah’s hat trick ended the win in style. Salah now has goals in 10 straight games across all competitions, something no Liverpool player has ever achieved, while scoring 14 times in that span. There is no attacking player in the world in better shape than the Egyptian at the moment, as he continues to defend a lucrative new contract. Becoming the first opposing player to score a Premier League hat trick at Old Trafford is sure to boost that campaign.
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It was the focus of some of the post-match chants, as Liverpool fans stayed up late to worship their team (in contrast to United fans, who left long before the final whistle en masse, having seen enough ). Another focus was Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who was mocked by Liverpool fans who sang “Ole’s at the wheel” jokingly, happy that his reign continued.
Solskjaer’s questions have been asked since he took over as Man United’s manager about whether he is prepared to take United back to the top. He has shown that he can turn United into a top four team, and has shown that he can help United deliver an unexpected surprise in a Champions League first knockout round while also having the ability to reach a final of the Europa League. But those were the barometers by which Arsenal had been judged before they fell completely out of the European contest. Surely, Man United has higher aspirations. And after a summer in which he made two canny signings in Jadon Sancho and Raphaël Varane and a romantic one in Cristiano Ronaldo, he had higher expectations. Varane’s injury has been a stark reminder that Victor Lindelöf’s association with Harry Maguire falls far short of what is necessary to compete, while the blow of signing Ronaldo and the domino effect he has on the rest of the team if he tries pressing has proven prescient. He does score goals and has come out ahead at important moments in his first couple of months ago, but there is a higher price to pay for his presence at times.
With Paul Pogba resigned from bench duty again on Sunday before going into halftime, and then being sent off with a red card 15 minutes later, he again highlighted a manager’s personnel decision that didn’t work out. All Sir Alex Ferguson, who lobbied for Ronaldo’s signing and has been credited as part of the reason it happened, could do from the stands was shake his head. The warnings, meanwhile, came from another great Man United.
Following Wednesday’s 3-2 win over Atalanta in the Champions League, another game in which United fell 2-0 early, Paul Scholes offered scathing analysis of the club and how they played, stating that if they came out of the Same way against players like Liverpool, it would get ugly.
“I watched that game thinking about Liverpool on Sunday,” Scholes told BT Sport. “I thought in that first half, United were all over the place. They were disjointed. They had the two midfielders playing alone. Now if you do that against Manchester City or Liverpool, halftime will be 3 or 4 to zero. You will be out of the game. You’re not coming back. And yet it’s great to see, to see the excitement, to see United’s path, all the attack, all the goals … it’s great, I know that. But that first half just stayed with me.
“Will he play like this on Sunday against Liverpool? It was so brilliant, it was so good, everyone is smiling, everyone is happy. Go and do that Sunday against Liverpool, see what happens. Imagine Jürgen Klopp at home watching that match in the first part”. , rubbing his hands. “
And that was precisely how things unfolded. The inability to adapt, to make the right, and sometimes difficult decisions, will not do Solskjaer well in the long run. The fight shown against Atalanta was inspiring, but it is not sustainable in the long term, not if the goal is to compete with Man City, Liverpool and Chelseas of the Premier League. United, which currently tops their Champions League group, is now winless in four straight league games and eight points off the top.
Solskjaer said Sunday was his “darkest day” in charge of the club, and it’s hard to argue. He signaled a 6-1 loss to José Mourinho’s Tottenham last season, but that season didn’t start with the same expectation that followed United’s spending spree this summer. With coaches like Antonio Conte and Zinedine Zidane available for hire and another Tottenham game on deck (followed by a trip to Atalanta and then a home date against Man City), it seems that having the harsh truths exposed leaves United without involvement. Between more: Either make significant changes to the way this current group is used against superior competition, or bring in someone else who can.
“We are on the bottom. We can’t feel worse than this,” Solskjaer said.
You may soon find out if that’s true.
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Eddie is an Australian news reporter with over 9 years in the industry and has published on Forbes and tech crunch.