Liverpool profited from some dreadful Manchester United mistakes to crush their rivals 3-0 at Old Trafford on Sunday.
Two needless giveaways in the space of seven first-half minutes from Casemiro gifted the Reds a 2-0 lead thanks to goals from Luis Diaz, both of which were set up by Mohamed Salah.
Casemiro was hooked at half-time but the mistakes continued, with Kobbie Mainoo the next to lose the ball and allow Liverpool to break; Dominik Szoboszlai teeing up Salah for a goal of his own.
In reality, further mistakes and missed Liverpool chances meant it could have been much worse for Man Utd and even at this early stage, Erik ten Hag looks like a man under pressure.
His opposite number and compatriot Arne Slot remains flawless so far as Liverpool manager.
Read on for full player ratings from Man Utd 0-3 Liverpool.
Andre Onana – 5/10 – Conceded three goals and made zero saves, although he can’t really be blamed for United’s collapse.
Noussair Mazraoui – 6/10 – One of a very small handful of United players who can leave the game with some pride. Provided plenty of energy up and down the right flank for the Red Devils and kept to his task.
Matthijs de Ligt – 5/10 – Started off well with some big blocks and tackles but looked jaded as the game went on, especially when Liverpool pulled away. Booked for a crunching late tackle on Diaz just after the hour mark and was brought off shortly after.
Lisandro Martinez – 4/10 – Attempted a ridiculous overhead kick in the second half that would have been a contender for the greatest Premier League goal of all time. Looked lost at the other end and was almost punished for giving the ball away immediately from kick-off after the third goal.
Diogo Dalot – 5/10 – Caught out of position a few times on Liverpool attacks but still made some important interventions to stop it from getting any worse.
Casemiro – 1/10 – Two mistakes in seven minutes effectively ended the tie. More worryingly, the Brazilian seemed to hide from the ball in the final minutes of the first half before being replaced at the break by rookie Collyer.
Kobbie Mainoo – 4/10 – Spent large spells looking like an oasis of calm in a desert of Man Utd madness, until he came down with a case of the Casemiros for the third goal.
Alejandro Garnacho – 3/10 – Ten Hag was booed by the Man Utd supporters for his decision to bring Garncho off but in reality, the Argentine offered very little to the game. Created just one chance, had zero shots and was unsuccessful with all three attempted dribbles.
Bruno Fernandes – 4/10 – No shots on target. No chances created. A total passenger.
Marcus Rashford – 7/10 – Still no shots attempted this season, which is worrying. However, Rashford was undeniably Man Utd’s most effective forward, creating two huge openings for Zirkzee and beating both Alexander-Arnold and Bradley on numerous occasions.
Joshua Zirkzee – 3/10 – Missed some massive close-range chances that really could have changed the course of this game and was very sloppy with the ball.
Substitutes
Toby Collyer (46′, for Casemiro) – 5/10 – A bold call to bring on for Casemiro at half-time. Collyer conducted himself well defensively but looked a yard off the pace with the ball.
Harry Maguire (69′, for De Ligt) – 6/10 – Did what he could but the damage had already been inflicted.
Amad Diallo (69′, for Garnacho) – 7/10 – Despite the protests of Man Utd fans, Diallo improved United after replacing Garnacho. Created a couple of openings and tried to commit Liverpool defenders.
Christian Eriksen (86′, for Zirkzee) – 5/10 – Didn’t get into the game after coming on late.
Alisson Becker – 7/10 – Stayed alert to make some important saves.
Trent Alexander-Arnold – 6/10 – Left a little red-faced when recreating the Steven Gerrard ‘camera kiss’ celebration when his goal was disallowed. Neat and tidy but a quiet afternoon by Trent’s standards.
Ibrahima Konate – 8/10 – A little misguided with some of his long passing but was a rock defensively.
Virgil van Dijk – 8/10 – Composed with the ball and gobbled up almost everything thrown at him at the back. His only low point was missing a Rashford cross to the back post, but compatriot Zirkzee spared his blushes with a dreadful finish.
Andy Robertson – 7/10 – Energetic and dynamic, but just lacked a little cutting edge in the final third at times.
Ryan Gravenberch – 9/10 – “Gravenberch is striding away from players almost Vieira-like,” said Jamie Carragher of Gravenberch. There’s really no further explanation needed. He was just sensational. Total grace and control.
Alexis Mac Allister – 8/10 – Made a match-high six tackles to help snuff out any hope of a Man Utd comeback. Another excellent performance.
Mohamed Salah – 9/10 – Just loves playing Man Utd. Another goal against the Red Devils, which came after two beautiful assists for Diaz.
Dominik Szoboszlai – 7/10 – Set up Salah for the third goal and was lively all afternoon, but gets marked down slightly for messing around with what should have been a simple finish for a goal of his own. Labelled ‘unprofessional’ by Carragher.
Luis Diaz – 9/10 – Two goals in the space of seven minutes to give Liverpool a formidable lead and was electric all afternoon. Looked fuming at being brought off when a hat-trick loomed.
Diogo Jota – 6/10 – Lost all 10 of his ground duels, failed to create any chances and had just one shot. That doesn’t necessarily mean Jota was bad, and he provided good energy to Slot’s attack, but it was no doubt a frustrating afternoon for the Portugal international.
Substitutes
Cody Gakpo (65′, for Diaz) – 5/10 – Missed a couple of half-decent chances but was at least lively.
Darwin Nunez (75′, for Jota) – 6/10 – Put himself about as you’d expect, but lacked a refined touch in the final third… as you’d also expect.
Conor Bradley (75′, for Alexander-Arnold) – 6/10 – Did everything required of him and continues to look like a genuine quality understudy to Alexander-Arnold.
Kostas Tsimikas (83′, for Robertson) – 6/10 – Did the basics well to see the game out.
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