Reds look like '25 F1 cars'

LONDON • Rarely has a 4-0 defeat for Manchester United seemed so inevitable as the English Premier League thrashing dished out on Tuesday by a Liverpool side sensing their shot at history.

The Reds were all business here backed by fans, who showed their class with a minute of applause in the seventh minute of the game for the absent Cristiano Ronaldo - the grieving United forward has been granted compassionate leave following the death of his son during childbirth.

Ten matches now stand between Jurgen Klopp's men and potentially the first quadruple of the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup and League Cup by an English club.

They will be lucky if they get another game as easy as the one offered by a United side lacking any quality or fighting spirit at Anfield, even though the scoreline just stopped short of the 5-0 humiliation at Old Trafford in October.

"They make our life easier," said Mohamed Salah, scorer of five of Liverpool's nine league goals against United this season, in a withering assessment of his opponents.

Add in United's two meetings with Manchester City, and the Red Devils have lost all four games to the standard bearers of English football in the past few seasons, conceding 15 goals and scoring only once in 2021-22.

While this season's title fight between City and Liverpool looks set to be decided by the finest of margins, 22 points now separate Liverpool from sixth-placed United.

They seem on the brink of appointing Ajax Amsterdam coach Erik ten Hag as their new full-time manager, but the Dutchman cannot be expected to work miracles as the visitors are "six years" behind the Reds.

Interim manager Ralf Rangnick spelt out the need for a long-term plan if United, whose trophy drought dates back to 2017, are to match the sustained excellence that Klopp and Pep Guardiola have brought to Liverpool and City respectively.

He said: "If you look at those two clubs who are currently dominating the Premier League, they brought in two managers, but not only that, they changed the whole thing with regard to formation.

"What kind of players do we need? What kind of football do we want to play? The headline of everything was, 'How do we want to play?' Underneath this headline, in every transfer window, they created the team they have now."

On again getting toyed with by the hosts, who netted via Luis Diaz, Sadio Mane and a double by Salah, Rangnick added: "It is embarrassing, it is disappointing, maybe even humiliating. We have to accept they are six years ahead of us now."

The German also described Liverpool's current squad as "25 Formula One racing cars" compared to the lethargy of the squad at his disposal, many of whom may have run their last races for the club.

Paul Pogba was substituted early with an injury and the sight of the France midfielder, whose contract expires in the summer, limping off summed up his time at United.

Others like Juan Mata, Edinson Cavani and Jesse Lingard will be free agents at the end of the season and United's new boss will not only have to make new signings but also bring in replacements for the host of players set to leave.

"The team needs a rebuild, not because some players have to go but because quite a few players' contracts are expiring," added Rangnick.

"Therefore for me it's clear that there will be six, seven, eight, maybe 10 new players, and before you sign those players, you need to know what kind of football does the new manager want to play. Then bring every single player fitting into that profile."

Liverpool are the embodiment of that joined-up thinking. Seven years on from Klopp's arrival at Anfield, they have never looked better.

Alisson Becker, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Andy Robertson, Virgil van Dijk, Fabinho, Jordan Henderson, Mane and Salah remain the backbone of the team who have already been crowned English and European champions in recent years.

January signing Diaz has added even more firepower and, after an injury-disrupted first season, Thiago Alcantara is pulling the strings in the centre of the park.

Liverpool are the finished article and all that remains is how many more trophies they can win this season alongside their League Cup victory.

"For a football manager, nothing really to moan about. It was the perfect night for us, we don't take these kinds of things for granted," a beaming Klopp said.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS