Liverpool brought Manchester United’s bandwagon to a shuddering halt as Cody Gakpo, Darwin Nunez and Mohamed Salah all scored twice in a record 7-0 hammering of their arch-rivals to boost their Premier League top-four hopes at Anfield on Sunday.
A week after a resurgent United claimed their first trophy since 2017 by winning the League Cup and amid talk of a title push they were blown away either side of halftime as Liverpool recorded their biggest ever margin of victory in the fixture.
United had looked marginally the better side for 43 minutes before Gakpo’s superb finish from Liverpool’s first attempt on target gave the hosts the halftime lead.
Within five minutes of the restart it was all over as a contest with Nunez making it 2-0 with a header after some comical United defending before a lightning Liverpool counter-attack led by Salah ended with Gakpo finishing in style for 3-0.
With United in disarray Salah got in on the act with a clinical finish in the 66th minute and Nunez then sent a header past a helpless David De Gea in the 75th.
Salah then rubbed salt into United wounds with a close-range effort to score a record 129th Premier League goal for the club before Roberto Firmino came off the bench to make it seven.
Liverpool had thrashed United 4-0 at Anfield last April but considering the reversal of fortunes for the two clubs since that day this result was a major surprise.
United’s sobering defeat, described by Sky Sports pundit and their former defender Gary Neville as a ‘disgrace’ left them in third place on 49 points and surely out of the title race as they are 14 points behind leaders Arsenal.
Liverpool’s fourth win in five league matches lifted them above Newcastle United into fifth on 42 points, three points behind fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur with a game in hand.
Johnson double earns Forest 2-2 draw with struggling Everton
Forward Brennan Johnson scored two goals as Nottingham Forest twice came from behind to secure a 2-2 draw against struggling Everton in a feisty Premier League game at the City Ground on Sunday.
Demarai Gray put Everton ahead from the penalty spot after Jonjo Shelvey fouled Dwight McNeil, before Johnson scored his first with a finish at the back post when Jordan Pickford could only parry the ball into his path.
Abdoulaye Doucoure netted his first goal for 18 months to restore Everton’s advantage before the half-hour mark with a header from close-range, but Johnson had the final say with a superb finish into the top corner after Doucoure gave the ball away in midfield.
Everton remained third-bottom of the table with 22 points from 26 matches, having played one game more than their relegation rivals. Forest are in 14th with 26 points from their 25 matches.
“I’m pleased, we’re doing the right things and there’s been real commitment to the cause since I joined,” Everton manager Sean Dyche told BBC Radio.
“We got in so many good positions today. It’s just the details now, we’ve got to stamp out the mistakes but we defended well and countered today.
“There was a lot of plusses about the performance. We know that we have to win games but you have to re-start and this showed a real step forward.
“This was a really good away performance. It’s a great building block to carry on the journey with.”
The visitors had a strong claim for a second penalty when Seamus Coleman appeared to be impeded by Forest midfielder Jack Colback but referee John Brooks turned down their vociferous appeals and he handed out eight yellow cards in a game that threatened to boil over at times.
Forest battled to create clear-cut chances but the quality of the excellent Johnson was enough to earn them a precious point in their bid to avoid being sucked into the relegation mix.
“We definitely deserved at least a draw but we also need to know we have to do better with the goals conceded,” Forest manager Steve Cooper told Sky Sports.
“I am disappointed with the referee but we’ll reflect on it. I thought he got lots of decisions wrong.
“You want to win or lose with what the opponent does – not the officials. The lads are a bit disappointed they didn’t win but they gave everything and showed courage.”
