Ten Hag: We did not stick together... I was surprised

MOHAMED Salah confirmed himself as Liverpool’s greatest scorer of the modern era as his history- making double sent Manchester United spinning to their heaviest Anfield defeat.

Liverpool ran amok in a surreal second half, scoring six times to run out 7-0 winners. Salah scored two of the them, taking him to 129 Premier League goals and eclipsing the record Robbie Fowler had held for 16 years. He was presented with a 129 shirt to mark the occasion in the dressing room.

This humiliation of their greatest rivals, which left United manager Erik Ten Hag seething at his squad’s lack of professionalism, has huge historical context because the last time Liverpool scored seven in this fixture, in Octoberober 1895, United were called Newton Heath and Queen Victoriaria was monarch.

Salah’s tallyy against United is now 12 — another individual record

— and he was overwhelmed at completing what had beenn a long-held ambition. bided He intended to go home and celebrate quietlyly with his family andd drink a cup of camomile tea — then sleep.

He said: ‘It’s very special to win a game like that but we need to stay humble. It’s very special to go past Fowler. This record has been in my mind since I arrived here and scored 31 in my first season (2017-18).

‘I have always been chasing this record, so to beat it against United and to do it with this result is unbelievable. My first goal was a good one. We are fifth now. We have one game in hand.

We just need to enjoy that. The last one goal was my favourite!’

It was staggering to think United ended up suffering a heavier defeat than the ones Jurgen Klopp’s side dished out last season, when winning 5-0 at Old Trafford and 4-0 at home.

‘It is quite obvious — it is unprofessional,’ said Ten Hag, who has already been on the end of a 4-0 loss at Brentford and a 6- 3 dismantling at Manchester City this season. ‘I think it’s a huge difference to Brentford. We were 4-0 down at half-time, we started the game very bad. ‘‘ First half here, I think we were the better team. We created the better chances. We had two one-on-ones with the goalie. We only made one mistake and we concede a goal, so we were in the game. ‘It really surprised me after half-time, we gave the game so quickly. The first two goals were defensive transitions, the first was a turnover and the second was a counter. Bad decisions on the ball. How we anticipate and how we conceded is really annoying.

‘The third was a counter and unprofessional decisions, not following in, giving space away in midfield, not tracking back. So then it is 3-0 and the game is lost, then as a team you have to stick together. That is what we didn’t do. It is a surprise for me.’

Ten Hag added: ‘I don’t think it is us. I don’t think it is Manchester United. It was really bad and poor. I have given my opinion about it. We will talk about it but I know this team will reset. We have to bounce back. We have shown we can.’

If one Dutchman stormed out of the stadium, another left on cloud nine as Cody Gakpo had his finest day since his £45million arrival from PSV Eindhoven in January. He scored Liverpool’s first and third with superb finishes.

‘Everybody told me a lot about this game before so I knew it was a big,’ said Gakpo. ‘We were just determined, eager to keep going. It’s amazing we scored seven. We just have to keep going now.

‘It’s a new front three except for Mo. It’s a little bit difficult in the beginning because the old three were so used to each other. My second goal was the most beautiful but my first was the most important.’

Klopp added: ‘It was a freak result but a top performance. The way we started was special. We know we can play good football and better than we showed at times this season. It was a really special night but we have to keep going.

‘ It was one of the best performances for a long, long time. Everybody saw how good the boys can be. No one was doubting Darwin Nunez’s future impact. Cody plays in the most difficult area in the pitch against a man-marking side which is very tricky. And Mo? Mo is Mo.’