I don’t often write football blogs, but this one is special!
When I started my day, never in my wildest dreams would I have predicted that Liverpool, a team I have supported since I was six years old, some 40 years ago would end the day with a 7 – 0 victory over the in-form Manchester United at Anfield given the inconsistent season the Reds have had in 2022/23.
Liverpool came out of the blocks hard, winning the majority of balls, having the most possession, and piling on the pressure, but didn’t have a single shot on target. It was the visitors, United that had 4 shots on target on the counterattack, forcing a couple of decent saves from Liverpool keeper, Alisson.
Despite the first-half pressure, it was not until the 43rd minute that the deadlock was broken, with Cody Gakpo’s sublime shot from inside the 18-yard box across the face of the goal into the bottom right of the net. This came just 1 minute after Manchester United’ Bruno Fernandez had a goal disallowed for offside.
The Reds went in at half-time with a 1 goal advantage, nothing to get excited about, as recent history has proven, the second half against arch-nemesis, Real Madrid springs to mind, conceding five goals at Anfield. I was hopeful, but not expecting a win, but Liverpool put on a masterclass in the second half.
Jurgen Klopp’s team came out in the second half with intent, and only 2 minutes into the half, Darwin Núñez doubled the lead with a close-range headed goal. A further 3 minutes later, Gakpo scored his second goal, a nice little chip over David de Gea from a tight angle from outside the right post.
Next to get on the scoresheet was Mo Salah, who could not believe his luck finding the ball at his feet, after a fortuitous deflection off a United player, the Egyptian put his foot through the ball into the roof of the net. I’m watching in disbelief, the Reds are 4 – 0 up against the old rivals Manchester United.
The 75th minute brought a fifth goal, Núñez with another headed goal off Jordan Henderson’s cross into the box. Then the chants of “we want six” rang out around Anfield, and in the 83rd minute, Mo Salah obliged with his second goal, which took the Egyptian international past Robbie Fowler’s Premier League goal-scoring record for Liverpool, cementing his position as one of the Liverpool all-time greats.
But, wait, there’s more, Bobby Firmino, who recently announced he will be departing Anfield at the end of the season, in an effort to play more minutes, showed why he will always be a Liverpool legend, with a superb turn and shot, as it seemed the ball was running away from him, to make it 7 – 0 to the Reds.
I didn’t know how much I, and every Liverpool fan needed this result after the poor season thus far. But, let’s not get carried away, it’s a great result, Manchester United’s worst defeat since the formation of the Premier League in 1992. Liverpool needs to be consistent now to finish in the all-important top 4, which puts them back in the Champions League for next season, which they now have a great shot of doing.
If Liverpool can come away with another 3 points at Bournemouth next week, keeping confidence high, could the Reds do the impossible and turn around their 5-2 deficit to Real Madrid in the return leg at the Bernabéu? Liverpool only need four goals without reply to progress to the quarter-finals. It’s unlikely, but, I never thought Klopp’s team would put seven past Manchester United, so anything is possible.