Mohamed Salah scored a hat-trick as Manchester United were ripped apart by relentless rivals Liverpool to leave Ole Gunnar Solskjaer under the most intense scrutiny of his near three years in charge.
The 202nd meeting of two of English football’s biggest rivals will live long in the memory after Jurgen Klopp‘s men ran amok and recorded the club’s biggest win at Old Trafford.
Here, Sportsmail’s Chris Wheeler rated the players’ performances on a dark day for Solskjaer and his players.
Mohamed Salah scored a hat-trick as Manchester United were ripped apart by Liverpool 5-0
MAN UTD (4-2-3-1)
DAVID DE GEA, 5 – Beaten five times and could have been worse without saves from Salah and Alexander-Arnold.
AARON WAN-BISSAKA, 2.5 – Slow to react for the first goal and went downhill from there. Abject performance.
VICTOR LINDELOF, 3 – Tied up in knots by Liverpool’s front three. Got dragged all over the pitch and opened up time and again.
HARRY MAGUIRE, 2 – Indecision led to second goal and didn’t cover himself in glory for the others. Where was the leadership?
Aaron Wan-Bissaka delivered an abject performance on the right side of United’s defence
LUKE SHAW, 2 – Started by playing Salah onside for the first goal and it got worse. Simply couldn’t handle Liverpool’s No.11.
SCOTT McTOMINAY, 3 – Solskjaer stuck with his ‘McFred’ midfield but they were exposed for the second time this week.
FRED, 3.5 – Biggest impression he made was a boot to Keita’s head. Chasing shadows from start to finish.
MARCUS RASHFORD, 3.5 – Scuffed a volley in first half and never really got into the game before he was subbed.
BRUNO FERNANDES, 3 – Guilty of glaring early miss. Would it have made a difference? Maybe but probably not.
Bruno Fernandes was guilty of a glaring miss early on but it would have made no difference
MASON GREENWOOD, 3.5 – Hooked for Pogba at half-time but it could have been any United player to be fair to him.
CRISTIANO RONALDO, 3 – Totally eclipsed by Salah. Frustration boiled over when he lashed out at Jones and got away with booking.
Subs: Henderson, Bailly, Pogba (for Greenwood 46, 2), Lingard, Dalot (for Rashford 62, 4), Cavani (for Fernandes 62, 4), Sancho, Matic, Van de Beek
Sent off: Pogba
Booked: Ronaldo, Fred, Fernandes, Maguire, Wan-Bissaka, Shaw
Manager: Ole Gunnar Solskjaer 2 – Set out to press Liverpool but failed miserably as United capitulated. Utter humiliation.
Cristiano Ronaldo was eclipsed by Mohamed Salah and his frustration nearly boiled over
LIVERPOOL (4-3-3)
ALISSON, 7 – Kept himself busy by beating away a drive from Greenwood and denying Ronaldo at close-range.
TRENT ALEXANDER-ARNOLD, 7 – Excellent cross for the second goal. Won’t ever have more freedom at Old Trafford.
IBRAHIMA KONATE, 8 – Given only his second Premier League start and handled it superbly. A dominant presence.
VIRGIL VAN DIJK, 7.5 – Strode through the game and didn’t have to get out of first gear. Won’t believe just how easy this was.
Ibrahima Konate was a dominant presence as he shone on his second Premier League showing
ANDREW ROBERTSON, 7 – Vital touch to deny Ronaldo a clear chance in the first half. Didn’t put a foot wrong.
NABY KEITA, 8.5 – Took his goal well for the second time this week but was carried off following Pogba’s red card challenge.
JORDAN HENDERSON, 8 – Commanding display in the middle and then produced a sublime pass for the fifth goal.
JAMES MILNER, 7 – Disappointed to go off injured at 2-0 and who can blame him? He knew he was missing a special occasion.
MO SALAH, 9.5 – Magnificent. Championed as world’s best player and proved it emphatically with a hat-trick.
Naby Keita took his goal well early on but there is concern for him after Paul Pogba’s tackle
ROBERTO FIRMINO, 8 – The orchestrator of a fantastic sweeping move for the third goal. Excellent throughout.
DIOGO JOTA, 7.5 – Selected ahead of Mane and justified the decision by coming up with Liverpool’s second goal.
Subs: Adrian, Mane (for Firmino 76, 6.5), Gomez, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Jones (for Milner 27, 7), Minamino, Tsimikas,
Scorers: Keita 5, Jota 13, Salah 38, 45+4, 50
Manager: Jurgen Klopp 8 – Demonstrated the coaching gulf between him and Solskjaer in ruthless fashion.
Referee: Anthony Taylor 7 – let the game flow and got the big decisions right, though could easily have sent off Ronaldo.
Mo Salah continued his clinical form in front of goal and showed why he’s the world’s best
