Liverpool continued their impressive run of form after destroying fierce rivals Manchester United at Anfield.
With the Reds having kept a clean sheet in their last four outings, and an in-form Red Devils hoping to keep the pressure on in the title race, many expected a thrilling contest.
In reality, Erik Ten Hag’s side were made to suffer by being on the receiving end of a brutal hammering at the hands of their arch-rivals.
This is the third time that Jurgen Klopp’s team has scored seven or more goals in a single game this season.
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Ex-United target puts them to the sword
It took 43 minutes of play before a breakthrough arrived in the contest.
Cody Gakpo received a sensational ball from Andrew Robertson before cutting in and slotting the ball into the net on his right foot.
The Dutch forward was famously linked to the visitors for a long time and it was seemingly a transfer that was expected to be a formality, a case of when not if.
The brilliant finish was a reminder as to why they had interest to begin with, and this certainly set the tone for the remainder of the evening.
Gakpo’s goal had opened the floodgates, as it took the Reds just two minutes after the interval before Darwin Nunez extended the lead for the hosts, easily heading home at the Kop end.
His second strike was an absolutely beauty too, he released Mohamed Salah on the counter-attack before lobbing David De Gea from a tight angle when the Egyptian gave him the ball back
The remainder of the second half was a completely different United side than we have seen of late.
They found it hard to contain the hosts after an array of counter-attacks and a barrage of red shirts charging forward dismantling their backline with ease.
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Record-Breaking Salah
There was much more to celebrate for Liverpool as Mo Salah’s brace ensured that he is now the club’s all-time Premier League goalscorer. The Egyptian overtook Robbie Fowler's record goal tally of 128 goals.
The 30-year-old’s first goal of the night, which equalled the record, was a thumping strike from the edge of the box which gave David De Gea almost no chance of stopping.
Salah's right foot guided the ball onto the crossbar and it then ricocheted into the back of the net. A fine finish.
The record was then broken just under 20 minutes later when he got his second.
A scuffle in the box as red and white shirts attempted to gain control of the ball led to Salah cooly placing it into the open net.
Add his two assists into the equation and he silenced his doubters this season with a big game classic performance.
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United's heaviest Premier League defeat
Manchester United's 7-0 loss to Liverpool marks their biggest defeat in the Premier League era.
It is also their heaviest defeat since Boxing Day 1931, But things did not always look so bad for United at first.
Despite ending the first half a goal down, they were certainly not out of the game.
They had created a fair few chances in the first half and even put the ball into the back of the net through Casemiro before it was flagged for offside.
The Brazillian slotted home from a brilliant free-kick delivery from Bruno Fernandes, but could not time his run well enough.
The likes of Antony, Marcus Rashford, and Fernandes had chances which were all squandered. It could have been a very different game had they gone in.
United seemed to have dropped their heads as Nunez slotted the second goal and that contributed to the concerning scoreline.
There was a lack of urgency and creativity going forward, and the defence had begun to look increasingly shaky.
Liverpool capitalised on this very well and had the visitors on the ropes for most of the second half as they could not seem to find any potential route to getting back into the game.
The introductions of Tyrell Malacia, Marcel Sabitzer, and Scott McTominay failed to change the game and, if anything, United looked like a weaker side after these changes.
Captain Fernandes’ strop when the manager chose to keep him on the field rather than substitute him, summarises the evening.
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The Butcher to the Butchered
To say this was not the Red Devils’ day is an understatement.
Losing by seven goals to nil at the hands of your biggest rivals is not something you would expect to happen especially heading into the game in impressive form.
With a Carabao Cup trophy win and a close title race, Ten Hag’s men had a lot to be positive about.
A large part of United's already successful season is the recruitment of Lisandro Martinez from Ajax.
Enjoying arguably the best season of his career so far, the Argentine already has a World Cup and league cup to his name.
Nicknamed 'The Butcher' due to his aggressive style of defending, he has helped to solidify the club’s backline.
The visit to Anfield, however, was arguably his worst performance in a United shirt.
Martinez was left for dead by Salah in the build-up to the third goal. The Argentine found himself one-on-one with the Egyptian who danced around him and left him on the floor before finding Cody Gakpo in space to add to his tally.
