06 March 2023 , 10:56
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Erik ten Hag has shown a willingness to make drastic decisions after heavy defeats - and he may have to make a statement once more following Manchester United 's humiliation at Liverpool.
The Red Devils went into their clash at Anfield with huge optimism having won the Carabao Cup seven days earlier, but were dealt a harsh reality check. Liverpool recorded their biggest ever win over their arch rivals, finishing up 7-0 victors with six of their goals coming in the second-half.
The likes of Mohamed Salah, Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo ran riot in front of the Kop, which has left United licking their wounds on Monday morning. Ten Hag was scathing about their application, particularly in the second 45 minutes on Merseyside.
He said: "You can lose a game but not in the way we lose in the second half. In the first half, we played very decent. We created the better chances and then made an organisational mistake. The second half was unprofessional. It can’t happen and we have to talk about it. I do think we played decent in the first half but the second half was not us. Not our standards. We didn't play as a team."
It is the third time this season that United have conceded four or more on the road in the league. They were taken to task by Manchester City, but before that it was a drubbing at Brentford which really had alarm bells ringing.
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That afternoon in west London much was made about how little United ran, with their opponents far outworking them. That wasn't overlooked by Ten Hag, who took the unconventional approach of calling the squad in on Sunday morning and making them run the same distance covered by Brentford.
Erik ten Hag watched his side ship seven at Anfield (Paul Currie/Colorsport/REX/Shutterstock)Speaking to Mirror Football, Clemens Zwijnenberg, a previous team-mate of Ten Hag's, said on that decision: “I told Erik he was crackers, that he didn’t have to do that and that he should not have done that. But Erik’s loyalty is absolutely massive. I have felt that loyalty as his friend - and I see that very same loyalty when he is managing a team, like he is doing now at Manchester United.”
It remans to be seen whether the Dutchman will demand similar from his players, especially given the credit they've built up in recent weeks. The team have enjoyed a strong upward trajectory since their loss to Brentford but the manner of their defeat at Liverpool cannot be allowed to linger.
Gary Neville said on the United boss: "Erik ten Hag will deal with them very strongly in the next 24, 48 hours. He’s done that this season a few times, and I hope that normal service will have resumed by the end of next week, but they’ve got to own that performance today and they’ve got to own that result because they’ve lost seven nil at Anfield in a Manchester United shirt - it is a disgrace."
No drastic running tasks are expected to take place at Carrington, but questions are again being asked about a side who have failed to perform in the big games away from home. They still have to go to the likes of Tottenham and Newcastle, where their performances will be further under the microscope.