Liverpool gave their top-four hopes a huge boost with a devastating 7-0 thrashing of bitter rivals Manchester United.
Liverpool started the brighter before Manchester United grew into the fixture as the first half wore on, with Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford squandering chances to give the visitors the lead, while Casemiro saw a goal chalked off for offside.
Liverpool crucially struck just before the interval, Andy Robertson drifting inside before sliding a ball down the left channel to find the run of Cody Gakpo. The former Man Utd target cut inside his man, before firing low into the bottom corner from inside the area.
Having scored just before half time, Liverpool doubled their advantage within two minutes of the start of the second. United gave the ball away in a poor area in their own half, before making a few half-attempts to win it back. The ball eventually came to Harvey Elliott who put in a quality cross for Darwin Nunez who poked home from close range.
Three minutes later and it was 3-0 as Liverpool carved United open once more. A Manchester United attack broke down on the edge of the Liverpool box before the hosts launched a devastating counterattack. Mohamed Salah received the ball and scampered down the right, before the Egyptian slipped the ball into Cody Gakpo. Despite the narrow angle, the Dutchman produced a sublime finish to beat David de Gea and end the game as a contest.
Gakpo adds a THIRD with stunning finish past De Gea 🤯✅ pic.twitter.com/n6zPLlB7HF
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) March 5, 2023
The Red Devils were beaten 4-0 on their last visit to Anfield, and in the 66th minute, they found themselves 4-0 down once more, and again it was a superb counter. Having dispossessed United, Liverpool broke with pace, before the ball eventually dropped invitingly to Mohamed Salah who crashed an unstoppable strike in off the underside of the crossbar.
The defensive disasterclass continued for United as Darwin Núñez nodded home his second and Liverpool’s fifth following an arcing Jordan Henderson cross, before Man of the Match Salah added a sixth with six minutes to play.
There was still time for Roberto Firmino – who announced that he will be leaving the club at the end of the season – to add a seventh to condemn their bitter rivals to their joint-worst result ever.
Before the game, Jurgen Klopp described Erik ten Hag’s side as a ‘results machine’, and the Liverpool boss was hopes that the emphatic victory puts his side ‘in the right direction’ in their bid for a top four finish.
“No words. Spectacular football game. Outstanding,” he told Sky Sports. “We played top football against the team in form.
“The second half the start was pretty good and the end was pretty good. That is football, it can happen.
“It was the push we wanted. It puts us in the right direction. Everyone has to know we are still around. It wasn’t the case for a while but tonight was a proper show of what we can be and what we have to be from now on.”
SALAH. RECORD-BREAKER 👑 pic.twitter.com/JazqlkR19G
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) March 5, 2023
Mohamed Salah’s two strikes were his 128th and 129th league goals for the Reds, seeing him overtake Robbie Fowler the club’s top goalscorer in the Premier League.
“129 goals, that is insane. What an unbelievable number. He is a special player. We appreciate him now but in the future people will look back and be wow, we witnessed something really special.
“It was all top performances today. That is very important for us – 13 games to come? A lot of points to go for. Tonight it was perfect.”
