At a jubilant Anfield, Liverpool performed a flawless performance, and Mohamed Salah set a new record for the team in Premier League goals scored.
The Carabao Cup, a tangible reward for United’s revival under manager Erik ten Hag, was already bestowed upon them, but Liverpool’s severe thrashing of them served as a brutal reality check on their advancement.
As former Old Trafford target Cody Gakpo finished off Andy Robertson’s exquisite pass two minutes before halftime, Liverpool gained control of what had been a tense encounter with Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford missing presentable chances.
The second half was a tale of sheer joy for Liverpool and unrelenting misery for United, starting after 47 minutes when Darwin Nunez’s header diverted Harvey Elliott’s driven cross past goalkeeper David de Gea.
Salah bamboozled Lisandro Martinez to play in Gakpo for another classy finish three minutes later before the Egyptian resumed his long-time role of United tormentor by getting on the scoresheet himself.
Salah ended a swift counter-attack by lashing a finish high past De Gea and the rout continued as Nunez flashed another header in from Jordan Henderson’s cross.
Salah then scrambled in the sixth to become Liverpool’s highest Premier League goalscorer with 129, passing Robbie Fowler. He is also Liverpool’s highest marksman against Manchester United with 11 – and 10 of those have come in his past five encounters.
And in a fitting finish, Roberto Firmino – who has announced he is leaving Liverpool at the end of the season – completed a remarkable game by making it 7-0 from close range.
Liverpool are now an ominous presence in the chase for the Champions League places, standing only three points behind Tottenham with a game in hand.
