March 5th, 2023 will go down in English football history after Liverpool humiliated historic rivals Manchester United 7-0 at home.
The Reds ended Erik Ten Hag’s 11-game unbeaten streak with a devastating and irresistible second half performance at Anfield.
The first half was more even, with a few chances from both sides.
But shortly before the break, Cody Gakpo lit the blue touch paper with a fine drilled shot following a defence splitting pass by Andy Robertson.
The visitors did not give up and had chances through Rashford and Fernandes in a closely contested first 45 minutes.
But the Red Devils hopes of a comeback were blown apart early in the second half after Darwin Nunez headed in Harvey Elliott’s cross in the 47th minute.
Klopp’s men continued to pile on the pressure and broke in devastating fashion from a Man Utd corner.
Gakpo and Salah combined brilliantly, and the Dutchman cleverly clipped his shot over De Gea for 3-0.
Salah then took advantage of a fortunate deflection from a Nunez pass to fire home powerfully into the roof of the net in the 66th minute.
And the nightmare continued for the visitors.
Wave after wave of attacks by Liverpool resulted in three more goals!
Captain Jordan Henderson crossed the ball and a perfectly executed header by Nunez made it 5-0.
With 15 minutes left, Salah achieved his record as all time top Premier League scorer for LFC with a close range shot in the 83rd minute after more defensive calamities from United.
The game ended with a final goal from Roberto Firmino, with a shot right through De Gea’s legs.
A fitting end after the Brazilian announced earlier in the week this would be his final season at Anfield.
Liverpool are back in the Champions League race, moving to within three points of Tottenham with a game in hand.
The nature of the victory was a shock given how Liverpool were blown away 10 days ago by Real Madrid in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16.
United had been on a fine run, having just won their first trophy in six years in the League Cup last week against Newcastle United.
(pi of Cody Gakpo – Alamy (FREE TO USE)
