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Liverpool ruthless; Manchester United toothless – no better way to describe the game at Old Trafford today.
At half-time in the Atalanta game during the week, Manchester United fans jeered their players, but that saw them come back stronger and win the game 3-2. Paul Scholes warned they would not be able to repeat it against Liverpool but Ole Gunnar Soskjaer tried his luck and failed.
Liverpool went into half-time with a stunning 4-0 lead against a Manchester United side that looked down and out. The Reds came out stronger in the second half and got the fifth goal, but then played out the game. It was almost like Liverpool showed mercy to their opponents, who were also a man down.
Here are Liverpool's five best players from the Manchester United win:
#5 - Roberto Firmino
No goals or assists for Roberto Firmino today but it is safe to say that without him, Liverpool's attack would not have managed five goals. It was back to the basics for the Brazilian as he just kept Manchester United's best defender on the night, Victor Lindelof, occupied all the time.
That left Harry Maguire to deal with Mohamed Salah from the right and Diogo Jota from the left when he entered the box. Creating and opening up spaces was Firmino's main role against the Red Devils and he did it to his very best capabilities.
#4 - Naby Keita
Naby Keita's Liverpool career has not been a good one as it has been frequently halted by injuries. The former RB Leipzig star was slowly getting back to his best but is now sidelined for the next few games after a nasty challenge by Paul Pogba.
Speaking about the injury, Jurgen Klopp said:
"We have to see how serious it is, it's very painful but we'll see – we'll only know tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. Naby is in a great moment. He's an outstanding player."
Before he was stretchered out of the stadium, Keita did manage to make things happen for Liverpool. He opened the scoring early in the game and then set up Mohamed Salah for his first goal of the game.
Klopp and Liverpool fans will be praying for his quick recovery as Keita has he has made the hole left by Gini Wijnaldum his own. Offensively, it could even be argued that he has been doing better than the Dutchman.
#3 - Jordan Henderson
Liverpool skipper Jordan Henderson showed what a captain's performance in such games should be like. The Englishman commanded the midfield and drove the Reds to be at their best throughout the game.
His intensity and work rate were crucial for Liverpool to dominate Manchester United and his assist for Mohamed Salah's third goal was out of this world. Henderson robbed Paul Pogba of the ball and then put in an inch-perfect ball beyond Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw with the outside of his boot.
#2 - Diogo Jota
Diogo Jota was a surprise inclusion by Jurgen Klopp today and he replaced Sadio Mane in the starting XI. The call stunned Manchester United and Aaron Wan-Bissaka was on the pitch like a student who had prepared for the wrong exam.
The forward star fought Bruno Fernandes and Cristiano Ronaldo for the 'best Portuguese on the pitch today' award and overshadowed them. He was ruthless in attack and managed to score a goal as well, thanks to a beautiful ball across the six-yard box by Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Jota made things better towards the end of the first half as he set up Salah for his second goal of the game in injury time. His pass was on point for the Egyptian, and the forward managed to tuck it in with ease.
#1 - Mohamed Salah
Ahead of the clash at Old Trafford, Graeme Souness made a bold claim and called Liverpool's Mohamed Salah the greediest player he has ever seen.
"He is perhaps as greedy a player as I have seen. All the top names have an element of that but he is extremely selfish. Personal targets are important to him and he shoots from every possible angle, which frustrates his team-mates at times — especially Mane. The other players accept it because he is so good."
Souness added:
"When he doesn't square it, he is either scoring or making goalkeepers work so that the follow-up is a tap-in for someone anyway, which makes it hard for anyone to criticise him. He may even take it as a compliment that I think he is the most selfish player I have seen because he is a goal machine."
Now, all football fans would be hoping to have a 'greedy player' like Salah in their team. The Egyptian not only managed to score in his 10 consecutive games for Liverpool but also created history in the game against Manchester United. He became the first-ever away player to score a Premier League hat-trick at Old Trafford.
Is there a better player than Mohamed Salah right now in the Premier League? Absolutely not.
