Exactly one year on from Liverpool’s 7-0 thrashing of Manchester United, how have both teams progressed?
It’s never nice to play your main rivals away from home. It’s worse to lose to them. It’s even worse than that to lose heavily away to your rivals. But far worse than all of that is to have your heaviest defeat in almost 100 years at your arch-nemesis home ground. This is what happened on March 5th last year, when a thriving Manchester United side got all of the wind knocked out of their sails as they got pummelled 7-0 at Anfield by an inconsistent Liverpool side. That sort of defeat can be a learning curve and a progression point, yet it can also be a catalyst for disaster. Let’s evaluate what has happened since that fateful day.
Manchester United were flying. From late December 2022 to the beginning of March 2023, United seriously looked like a proper team. Marcus Rashford was the most in-form player in the world. Lisandro Martinez was locking up everyone’s favourite strikers, week in and week out. Casemiro was bullying midfield. De Gea was in top form. It was all going so well. Apart from a narrow defeat at the Emirates, United hadn’t lost post-World Cup. They dismantled teams every week and knocked out La Liga champions Barcelona from the Europa League. To top it all off, a week before United strolled up to Anfield, they won their first trophy in six years, the Carabao Cup. With Erik ten Hag boasting an incredible 71% win percentage up to this point, it is fair to say that spirits were incredibly high.
Liverpool were not flying. Sixth in the Premier League, ten points away from Manchester United, something wasn’t clicking for Klopp’s side. Having been trounced 5-2 at Anfield by Real Madrid in the Champions League, spirits were low. They needed a catalyst, something to springboard their season. This fixture was the perfect opportunity.
The game started relatively evenly and it was actually United who put the ball in the back of the net first yet Casemiro’s header was ruled offside. Just before halftime, Cody Gakpo slotted one in and Liverpool came into the second half with a lead, a lead which they proceeded to multiply by seven. The floodgates opened and United collapsed. De Gea conceded seven from eight shots on target. It was dire. The enraptured Liverpool fans shouted ‘ole’ when their players made a pass. You can imagine the scenes when they scored a goal. United crashed and burned. Like Icarus, they flew too close to the sun. They opened up too much and got punished. Their worst defeat since 1931.
Liverpool, fresh off the back of this win, lost the next week at Bournemouth (it was a 12.30 kick-off). They then proceeded not to win in any of their next four games in all competitions. Yet, after that, seven league wins in a row saw them qualify for the Europa League.
United took all their anger out on Real Betis and thrashed them 4-1 in their subsequent game, but performances for the rest of the season were not at the level of January-March. Ten Hag put the brakes on. The loss shook them. United were trounced away at Sevilla in the quarter-finals, having beaten two Spanish teams in the previous rounds, and they lost away at Brighton, West Ham, and Newcastle within a few weeks. A strong last five games ensured Champions League qualification, but the FA Cup Final was a step back. City looked in control for almost the whole game, and United ended their season with defeat.
This game impacted United’s summer transfers. Liverpool’s, not so much. The drubbing was one example of why United had to move David de Gea on, and they signed Andre Onana in his stead. Rasmus Hojlund was signed to fill the massive, target man-sized hole in United’s side. They needed a focal point. Mason Mount was also signed to add more dynamism and drive to a midfield which was in desperate need of some impetus.
Yet, one year on, it is Liverpool who have entirely regained their strong position over United. It is true that this year, the score at Anfield was 0-0, an impressive result for United, but Liverpool’s xG (2.38) in the draw was almost as high as their xG in the win (2.78). Liverpool have become an entirely dominant force in the league, leading the pack and fighting for victory in all competitions. They have already won the Carabao Cup, fending off Chelsea. They are the favourites to win the Europa League and stand a strong chance of winning the FA Cup. In Jurgen Klopp’s final season, they mean business and want to win it all for a coach who has given his all for them.
Manchester United have had one of their poorest campaigns to date. Before that fateful day at Anfield, ten Hag’s win percentage was 71% from his first 42 games. In the 58 games since, his win percentage has been just 52%, on par with David Moyes and Louis van Gaal, lower than the 54% achieved by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and the 58% boasted by Jose Mourinho. That game stands as a clear turning point of where things have gone wrong for the Red Devils. Yes, they have been without key players this season like Mason Mount, Lisandro Martinez and often Rasmus Hojlund or Casemiro. Yes, it is also true that United are breeding through young talents and it is only still ten Hag’s second season. Yet 11 losses already in the Premier League is more than their entire tally from last season, and it is a clear sign of regression on behalf of his side.
In the upcoming month, anticipation brews as Manchester United and Liverpool are set to clash twice at Old Trafford, first in the FA Cup and then in the Premier League. The strategic setups for these matches will offer a real glimpse into the progress each team has made. Liverpool, fueled by the desire to win every trophy for Klopp, will be determined to assert dominance once again. Meanwhile, United, facing pressure to salvage their season with silverware, will approach these encounters with everything that they have. In the Premier League fixture, United will be driven to thwart their rivals’ quest for the title, injecting an additional layer of intensity into an already fiercely contested rivalry.
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By Nicky Helfgott / @NickyH3lfgott on Twitter
