Pundit Offers Clarity On Why Manchester United Was Soundly Beaten By Liverpool

Sky Sports analyst Jamie Carragher explained why Manchester United played dreadfully against Liverpool this past weekend to the tune of five goals to zero.

Working the game in the commentary booth, Carragher offered his take on the Liverpool-sponsored drubbing at the 77th minute.

“I think what we’re seeing here is a team [Liverpool] against a team full of individuals for Manchester United. That’s been the huge difference, it really has. They [Manchester United] have individual players, but this Liverpool team is a team,” remarked Carragher.

Looking back on the events during the match, Carragher’s analysis makes complete sense.

Manchester United played aggressive attacking football in the early going, and fans believed that the club would be able to shock Liverpool with Cristiano Ronaldo, Marcus Rashford and Mason Greenwood leading the attack.

But when Roberto Firmino assisted on a Naby Keita strike right in front of David de Gea at the fifth minute for the opening goal, Manchester United players lost all sense of composure.

Eight minutes later, Portuguese forward Diogo Jota decided to put on more pressure on Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side by scoring a tap-in to bring the lead up to 2-0.

As if things were not going bad enough, Mohamed Salah made sure that any Manchester United comeback will need to take a Herculean effort by putting up a hat-trick.

Salah’s goals were confirmation for Carragher’s claims as Keita found the Egyptian breaking away from the Manchester United defense for another tap-in, seven minutes away from halftime.

Taking advantage of the dejected energy that the Red Devils were giving Liverpool, Jota found an unmarked Salah that tucked the ball away in the near post for his second goal and Liverpool’s fourth.

Going into the mid-game break, Manchester United fans had been booing their side for a dreadful performance.

But the second half would turn into an even bigger nightmare for Manchester United fans as Jordan Henderson got a through ball to Salah, triggering a one-on-one situation with De Gea to achieve the hat-trick for Liverpool’s fifth goal.

Liverpool looked every bit like a cohesive, championship-caliber team with all of their goals being masterfully set up for each other. Meanwhile, Manchester United looked lost throughout the whole 90 minutes, especially its defense.

Paul Pogba’s red card at the 60th minute was indicative of the frustration that had boiled over on the Red Devils’ side as they failed to convert on any of their lackluster scoring chances.

After the match, Carragher echoed the sentiments of Manchester United fans–that Solskjaer is not the manager who will bring them back to the top of the Premier League.

As they digest their beatdown at the hands of an archrival, Manchester United cannot afford to have a repeat when they visit Harry Kane, Son Heung-Min and the rest of the Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, October 31.