Man United’s stunning capitulation at Liverpool on Sunday afternoon will continue to give the headline writers some ammunition for a while yet.
It’s clear that it wasn’t just the scoreline that was troubling for many, but also the manner of the United performance – or should that be lack of one.
Once the Red Devils had gone 2-0 down at the start of the second half, the wheels fell off and what followed in the next 40 or so minutes was, frankly, unbelievable.
A team that had been on a brilliant run in the Premier League and had recently won the Carabao Cup as well as knocking the mighty FC Barcelona out of the Europa League, were continuously cut to ribbons as Liverpool ran riot.
Sky Sports’ Paul Merson was just one ex-pro that couldn’t really believe what he was seeing.
“Man Utd have been getting away with it and have been caught. Leicester should have been 2-0 up against them a few weeks back – they win 3-0 and it papers over the cracks,” he said on Sky Sports.
“[…] I haven’t bought into this ‘Man Utd are in the title race’ ever – not ever. They are nowhere near. What I saw [against Liverpool] was embarrassing at the highest level. This is their biggest game of the season. Chelsea played so badly at Spurs last week – the biggest game of their season – but it was never going to be 7-0.”
The ex-Arsenal man didn’t stop there either.
“When Gary Neville is telling us on the TV that Bruno Fernandes is throwing his hands up because he wants to come off – it’s mind-blowing. It was scary,” he added.
“They were never in the Premier League title race in a million years. 7-0 is so embarrassing. There are no excuses. I don’t care if you have two players sent off, you shouldn’t get beaten by seven with that quality of players.”
Fortunately for Erik ten Hag, his side still remain in Europe and the FA Cup and, at this stage, should be able to qualify for next season’s Champions League through their Premier League final placing.
For them to do so, however, it requires a reset and a change of mindset after one of the worst results in the club’s proud history.