Erik ten Hag’s Manchester United flops were anihilated by Jurgen Klopp’s rampant Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday with Daily Star Sport taking a look at what went wrong.
Manchester United were smashed 7-0 by an inspired Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday evening with Erik ten Hag making several key errors to the advantage of Jurgen Klopp.
The Red Devils came into the game on the back of eight wins from their last 11 Premier League fixtures but their good form went out of the window in disastrous fashion with Mohamed Salah, Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo scoring twice before Roberto Firmino sealed off the win.
From failing to get into the break level to falling apart in the second-half, Daily Star Sport have taken a look were Ten Hag and his team went horribly wrong.
Doomed from the start.
Ten Hag’s United looked to get the better of Liverpool without trying to sit back and absorb pressure, carrying on in the same style after going behind.
That brave tactic didn’t pay off for the former Ajax boss, with Klopp’s man getting the better of their rivals on countless occasions in the final 30 minutes.
With questions over the starting XI and things only going from bad to worse, the way in which United reacted to the pressure might well be an even bigger worry.
Wout Weghorst experiment.
Wout Weghorst was dragged off before the hour mark having failed to provide a positive attacking impact despite again being favoured by Ten Hag.
The Netherland’s international forward was barely involved before being taken off for Alejandro Garnacho, who had been going from strength-to-strength in recent weeks.
With pressure already on Ten Hag to get the best out of Weghorst with his Old Trafford deal raising eyebrows, it might be time to look for an alternative system.
Temperament.
With Gary Neville calling the United side ‘school boys’ during their second-half collapse, Jamie Carragher was quietly pleased when their players started to lose their cool.
With Luke Shaw almost getting involved in a clash with Darwin Nunez, a Bruno Fernandes dive also raised eyebrows with Scott McTominay lucky to avoid a red card.
Neville said on Sky Sports: “These players are showing they have a lot of growth yet before they can handle it. This place is the toughest place for any Manchester United to play at.”
Substitutions.
Ten Hag wasted his only direct chance to salvage the fixture with his choice of subs, with Garnacho joined in leaving the bench by McTominay, Marcel Sabitzer, Tyrell Malacia and Anthony Elanga.
One United fan wrote on social media: “I love Ten Hag but he’s somewhat at fault today, line up, subs and tactics all wrong. Happens to the best of them.”
A second agreed: “This disgrace is on Ten Hag, terrible line up, terrible subs.”
Ten Hag will be feeling worried about the manner of his team’s defeat and the way in which they reacted to going behind as Liverpool ran riot.
