Manchester United players were messaging about winning the Premier League title in their WhatsApp group before their 7-0 loss against Liverpool.
Erik ten Hag’s side were thrashed by Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday, ending any faint title hopes they may have had.
That humiliation not only saw them take a huge confidence blow but it left them 14 points behind league leaders Arsenal, although they do have a game in hand.
They won’t be winning the Premier League this season.
But according to a report in the Daily Mail, the players were starting to believe.
After lifting the Carabao Cup last month, the Red Devils were still in with a chance of winning the quadruple.
They’re through to the quarter final of the FA Cup, while they’re also in the last-16 of the Europa League. But overtaking both Manchester City and Arsenal was always going to pose the biggest challenge to winning all four trophies.
Man Utd players thought they could win the league
But the players went into the Liverpool game still believing.
The Daily Mail report: “Ten Hag has been quick to silence any talk of quadruples, but there was a growing feeling among the players that the Premier League title was a genuine target.
“In the players’ WhatsApp group, they had spoken about the prospect of catching the top two.
“The feelgood factor going into the Liverpool game was what made the collapse so shocking.”
Awkward.
After such a terrible result, United may well be looking behind them and ensuring they now finish in the top four. Tottenham are four points behind them, while Liverpool are seven back. With a game in hand, Newcastle could go within five points.
What did Ten Hag say after Liverpool 7-0 Man Utd?
After the match, Ten Hag admitted his side lost their heads during the match.
“It was a really bad performance and the worst of the year,” said Ten Hag.
“We lost the game at the end of the first half and at the start of the second but you have to keep your head up and we didn’t.
“It’s all about showing discipline and we didn’t, so that’s when you start conceding goals.
“It’s a really unprofessional performance and unnecessary. You have to do your jobs and we didn’t.”
Can Man Utd bounce back?
United will be hoping to bounce back against Real Betis in the Europa League on Thursday.
“We have made a lot of progress but you see what happens when you don’t keep standards,” said Ten Hag.
“What I have said in the dressing room is that this is unacceptable. But also it is only one game.
“We will bounce back. This team is strong enough and we will reset and bounce back.”
BBC pundit says Man United star should be banned for what he did vs Liverpool
Chris Sutton has blasted Manchester United star Bruno Fernandes for one of his antics against Liverpool at the weekend.
The fixture on Sunday resulted in arguably the biggest shock of the season so far. There were a few people who predicted a Liverpool win – a convincing one even – but nobody expected a 7-0 hammering.
That, however, was what happened, and Fernandes has attracted a ton of criticism for more than one reason.
Chris Sutton says Bruno Fernandes should be banned for what he did vs Liverpool
From going down far too easily in the penalty box to falling to the ground while holding his face when Ibrahima Konate only touched his chest, Fernandes was involved in a lot at Anfield.
Manchester United fans have almost always had his back, but after Sunday, even some of the Old Trafford faithful were far from happy with the Portugal international’s antics.
What irked Sutton, however, was when Fernandes put his hands on the linesman. The Manchester United skipper appeared to push the official away near the corner flag, and no action was taken against him.
Even the FA have decided to let it go, and Sutton is absolutely furious. He believes Fernandes deserves a lengthy ban for his action on Sunday, which he thinks has gone unnoticed.
He said on The Monday Night Club: “I don’t think this has been highlighted enough. The push on the assistant, I don’t think it’s been highlighted enough.
“He should be seeing a lengthy ban for that.”
When asked if he thinks it was ‘that bad’, Sutton replied: “Yeah, I do! Where does this stop then? A lot of focus on grassroots football and the decline in referees at grassroots level, so if people see that and Sunday League players see that, they will think that’s the norm so where does it stop?
“I thought that was an absolute disgrace and I don’t think enough has been said about that.”
TBR View:
The FA laws clearly state that “physical or aggressive behaviour” against a match official warrants a red card.
An argument can be made that Fernandes wasn’t overly aggressive, but he put his hands on the linesman, and that, in our opinion, deserves punishment.
Sutton’s comments are a fair one, but luckily for Manchester United fans, the FA have let Fernandes off the hook and he’s eligible to play against Southampton in their next Premier League game.
Up next for Manchester though, is a big game against Real Betis in the next round of the Europa League.
Jamie Carragher makes Cody Gakpo admission after Liverpool win
Jamie Carragher has told Monday Night Football (broadcast on 6/3; 19:29) that he would not have started Cody Gakpo for Liverpool in their win over Manchester United, admitting that he was a little surprised to see the Dutchman in the lineup.
The Reds, of course, continue to celebrate their stunning performance against Erik ten Hag’s side. Liverpool ran riot, winning 7-0 in one of Anfield’s most brilliant evenings in recent memory.
It was Gakpo who started the scoring. The January signing latched onto an amazing Andrew Robertson pass, and produced a brilliant finish, cutting in and finding the bottom corner.
Carragher wouldn’t have started Gakpo for Liverpool
He would bag a second goal after the break. Again, it was a moment of brilliance, with the 23-year-old lifting the ball over David De Gea from the tightest angle to put Liverpool 3-0 up
It has been a mixed start at Liverpool for Gakpo since his £35 million move. He has suffered because of the Reds’ disappointing form. But he has not always looked like stepping up either.
However, Sunday confirmed, beyond any doubt, that Liverpool have a special talent on their hands. Certainly, Carragher suggested that Gakpo proved him wrong in the game.
“This was a brilliant performance,” he told Monday Night Football. “But what I would say about Gakpo and Harvey Elliott, they were the two positions, which I think, were up for grabs.
“I’ll be honest with you, I wanted Jota to play instead of Gakpo. I thought he would be better at pressing from the front, Liverpool could win the ball back from there. And I thought Bajcetic has been performing better than Harvey Elliott over two or three months. So I was a bit surprised.”
Sunday felt like a potential defining moment for Liverpool’s new look attack. Of course, it is the trio of Mo Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane who have written their name into Reds folklore.
Mane has now gone, and Firmino looks set to follow. But Salah remains. And the win showed how devastating they could be with Gakpo and Darwin Nunez joining him in the forward line.
All three have had their moments this season. But everything just clicked on Sunday in incredible fashion.
Based on that performance, Manchester United are not going to be anything like the last team to be torn apart by Liverpool in the coming years.