Liverpool thrashed their arch-rivals, Manchester United as Cody Gakpo, Darwin Nunez and Mohamed Salah all scored twice in a record 7-0 victory on Sunday at Anfield.
A week after a resurgent United claimed their first trophy since 2017 by winning the Carabao Cup and amid talk of a title push they were blown away either side of half-time as Liverpool recorded their biggest-ever margin of victory in the fixture.
Third-placed United had looked marginally the better side for 43 minutes, but it turned into an Anfield horror show for Erik ten Hag’s side as they suffered the club’s worst defeat since a 7-0 loss to Wolverhampton Wanderers in 1931.
“No words [for what we just did],” Liverpool coach Jurgen Klopp said after the match.
“Super front foot, super lively, super active. They played great football against the team in form. First half, we got a bit wild in a way we didn’t want. Second half, obviously the start was pretty good, the finish was pretty good, everything else was pretty good.”
Gakpo’s superb finish from Liverpool’s first attempt on target gave the hosts the lead at the break.
In a devastating seven-minute burst either side of half-time, Dutch forward Gakpo struck twice, either side of a header from Uruguayan striker Nunez, and Jurgen Klopp’s resurgent side moved ominously to within one place of the Champions League spots.
Mo Salah broke Liverpool’s Premier League scoring record by hammering a double of his own to complete United’s misery, then Nunez added his second as United were crushed and utterly humiliated.
There had been fanciful talk of Ten Hag’s side aiming for a quadruple in recent weeks, but those ambitions have certainly been reduced after the heaviest defeat in the history of this fixture.
And it was the sort of thrashing which may well have a wide-ranging effect on the remainder of United’s campaign.
