Liverpool vs Manchester United – Football match report – 5 March 2023

Liverpool brought Manchester United to a spectacular halt as Cody Jacobo, Darwin Nunez and Mohamed Salah scored twice in a record 7-0 win over arch-rivals to boost their Premier League hopes at Anfield on Sunday.

A week after United won their first trophy since 2017 by winning the Carabao Cup, and amid talk of winning the title, the team was stunned by a huge half-time lead as Liverpool scored their biggest-ever victory in the match.

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Third-placed United looked marginally better for 43 minutes but it turned into a horror show for manager Erik ten Hag’s side as they suffered the club’s worst defeat since losing 7-0 to Wolverhampton Wanderers in 1931.

“No words [for what we just did]Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said after the match. Super front feet, very lively, very active. They played great football against the team in proper form. First half, we got a little wild in a way we didn’t want to. The second half, obviously the start was good, the end was good, everything else was good.”

Jakopo’s superb goal from Liverpool’s first attempt on goal gave the hosts the lead in the first half.

Within five minutes of the second half it all ended as a game with Darwin making it 2-0 with a header after some comical United defending before Liverpool’s lightning counter-attack led by Salah ended with Gakpo finishing 3-0 in style.

With United in disarray and losing their head, Salah got into action firing into his side’s fourth in the 66th minute and then Nunez headed home past helpless goalkeeper David De Gea in the 75th minute. But there was still more to come.

Salah rubbed salt into United’s wounds with a close-range effort to score the club’s 129th Premier League goal, surpassing Liverpool legend Robbie Fowler’s mark.

Then Roberto Firmino came off the bench to usher Klopp’s side into seventh heaven although by that point most United’s followers had headed off.

Liverpool had crushed United 4-0 at Anfield in April 2022, but given the reversal of both teams’ fortunes since that day, this result was a huge surprise.

United’s shocking defeat, described as a “disgrace” by Sky Sports analyst and their former defender Gary Neville, left them third on 49 points and certainly out of the title race. They are 14 points off leaders Arsenal, who have played a game more.

Liverpool’s fourth win in five league matches raised it to fifth place with 42 points, three points behind fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur with a postponed match.

“It was a great day for everyone,” Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson told Sky Sports. “The level of performance from every player was top notch today which is something we’ve been missing for some time of course.

“Today you can see the energy levels and everything is back, although the last few Premier League games have shown we are on the right track, to be fair.”

Liverpool’s previous biggest win over United was a 7-1 win in 1895 when both clubs were in the Second Division.