KEY POINTS

  • Liverpool thrashed Man Utd 5-0 in the Premier League on Sunday
  • Mo Salah registered a hat-trick at Old Trafford
  • Man Utd have now dropped to seventh in the league table

Jurgen Klopp hailed Roberto Firmino, whose vital contribution once again got overshadowed by Mo Salah's brilliance in Liverpool FC's 5-0 win over Manchester United in the Premier League on Sunday.

Liverpool humiliated Manchester United, a decade after the Red Devils had suffered a 1-6 loss to derby rivals City. It was in-form Salah yet on, rising to the occasion as he became the first opposition player to score a hat-trick at Old Trafford in over 18 years, since Brazil's Ronaldo did so for Real Madrid back in April 2003 in the Champions League, soccer statistician Opta Joe said.

The other Liverpool goals were scored by Naby Keita and Diogo Jota. While Cristiano Ronaldo had netted one for the hosts, the goal was disallowed for offside.

Even though Firmino failed to register an assist or a goal Sunday, he received praise from Klopp for his defensive skills against United.

"He played, again, outstandingly well. You are right, Mo gets a lot of attention and rightly so, but Bobby, for people with football knowledge - I'm pretty sure when he finishes playing people will write books about the way he interpreted the false-nine position. I don't say he invented it or we invented it, but with the way he plays it, from time to time it looks like [that]!" Klopp told Liverpool's official website after the match in Manchester.

Paul Pogba was sent off for a horrible tackle on Liverpool midfielder Naby Keita
Paul Pogba was sent off for a horrible tackle on Liverpool midfielder Naby Keita AFP / Oli SCARFF

The match also saw Manchester United receive seven cards (six yellows, one red), their joint-most in a Premier League match, alongside the seven yellow cards they received against both Spurs and Chelsea in February and September 2008 respectively.

"There are different things to do on the pitch - some of them are defensive, and what he did in that department tonight was absolutely insane, and offensively he is obviously a nice link-up player and he finishes off from time to time as well. So yeah, Bobby knows how much we appreciate what he is doing and maybe that is a bit more important," added Klopp in the same interview.

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