If Ole Gunnar Solskjaer survives this then he can survive anything. This was as shambolic, humiliating, embarrassing and disgraceful as it gets for Manchester United. And it all happened at the hands of Liverpool.
Enough should be enough but such has been the faith in Solskjaer from the club’s hierarchy, such has been their blind belief that he is ‘the one’ that he may somehow limp on before the inevitable happens. Maybe he will quit because this job is beyond him? No, instead, he remained defiant even as he spoke of this being the “darkest day” and looked broken. It again leads to more questions about those making the decisions at United. If they think there is progress then they are deluded.
Liverpool, Manchester City and Chelsea, the three title contenders, are in a different league. United are eight points behind leaders Chelsea after just nine games – that is almost a point of game – and surely, already, the best they can hope for is fourth place. Maybe that is good enough for the Glazers but they should have looked at Solskjaer’s face as he walked off. He was shell-shocked. He was lost. He looked like a man drowning.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer - PA
The chaos was also summed up by Paul Pogba’s gruesome cameo. The midfielder did not start, he came on at half-time, he gave the ball away for Liverpool’s fifth goal, and then he was red-carded for an ugly lunge on Naby Keita who was stretchered off. As Pogba left the pitch many United fans left the stadium. They could not face watching the last half hour with 10-men as Solskjaer substituted Bruno Fernandes, who is playing his own ill-disciplined game, and Marcus Rashford. Jadon Sancho – the £73million summer signing – sat unused and bemused on the bench. What an unmitigated mess.
“Ole’s at the wheel” gleefully and sarcastically chanted the Liverpool fans as the United supporters were silent bar a sliver of defiance at the Stretford End. United are down to seventh and have lost three of their last four games, drawing the other one, but this was a defeat at another level; a new low. They were 4-0 down at half-time - and that has never happened before in the Premier League era - before the irrepressible Mohamed Salah completed the first Liverpool hat-trick away to United since 1936. It was United’s biggest ever defeat at home to Liverpool and their biggest defeat to them since losing 7-1 in 1895 (when they were still called Newton Heath).
Yes, Jurgen Klopp’s side are wonderful and can tear any opponent apart. But they did not even have to play that well even if they were ruthless in their finishing as United who did not press, did not run, did not work hard enough, were gone in eight minutes. Gone in five. That was the time between Liverpool scoring their first goal and when they added their second in the 13th minute. Disorganised. Confused. Uncommitted. Insert any negative adjective you want and it would be no exaggeration. Poor coaching compounded by individual errors – which are probably also the result of poor coaching.
There were so many vignettes and insights. During a break in play with United losing 2-0, as James Milner went down injured before being replaced, Klopp called four Liverpool players over, led by captain Jordan Henderson, to pass on instructions. Not one United player was spoken to by Solskjaer or his assistant Mike Phelan as they stood motionless in the technical area.
United captain Harry Maguire was awful. Just awful. A detailed analysis of the first goal said it all as Maguire inexplicably left Salah and ran towards the outstanding Roberto Firmino who was already covered by Scott McTominay. Why? Just why? And so Firmino could turn and slip a pass through to Salah who was played onside by Luke Shaw, so stupidly deep in a ragged defensive line, and he had time and space to wait for Keita. No United player tracked the midfielder and Keita easily sidefooted beyond David De Gea. From Alisson initiating the move it was six easy passes without a United player getting close. There was no pressure from United and a bunch of bad decisions. It was an anatomy of failure.
Harry Maguire was badly caught out time and time again - EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
There were more mistakes as Liverpool scored again. This time the ball was sent in from the left and Maguire and Shaw got into another tangle – no communication, no commitment – with Keita turning it out wide right to Trent Alexander-Arnold who whipped in a cross that was guided home by Diogo Jota.
In fact every cross led to panic in the United defence. The visitors were quicker, slicker, more cohesive and of course Salah was not to be denied. He sensed weakness, he sensed goals and after his shot was blocked, it rebounded to the unmarked Keita who crossed with Salah just wanting it more than the lumbering Maguire. The goal took him ahead of Didier Drogba – who scored 105 times - to become the highest scoring African player in the competition’s history and he would claim two more.
The rabble that was United continued to embarrass themselves. On half-time after Alisson thwarted Cristiano Ronaldo the United forward kicked out at substitute Curtis Jones sparking a melee. It said everything about United’s frustration but that was as nothing as to what happened on half-time. United just did not get close as Jota rolled in Salah who once more had a ridiculous amount of space. And we know what that means.
Paul Pogba's challenge on Naby Keita that led to a red card - Getty Images Europe
The boos at half-time were fierce and prolonged. The game resumed and Pogba lost the ball on half-way and stopped with Henderson playing a superb pass with the outside of his boot to release Salah. Even though his first touch was heavy he was still able to stab the ball underneath De Gea and, in doing so, he become the first opposition player to score a hat-trick at Old Trafford since the Brazilian Ronaldo in 2003.
And that was it. It simply could not have been more emphatic, more comprehensive and, for United, more damning. Like a dishevelled pub team they ended up with six yellow cards as well as a red. It felt apt because that is what they looked like - with apologies to the 'Dog and Duck'.
Manchester United 0 Liverpool 5: as it happened
06:18 PM
David De Gea
cannot bear to look.
David De Gea hides his face in shame after letting in five - AP Photo/Rui Vieira
Let us draw a veil over this shame, then: Jason's report is above, and no doubt we will have plenty more reaction over the next day and beyond. Thank you for following. Goodnight!
06:15 PM
Jamie Carragher
"Manchester United need a better manager. OGS is never going to be Jurgen Klopp, Thomas Tuchel."
06:13 PM
Neville
"Ole believes they are close but I am not sure."
"Manchester City are coming in two weeks and they might beat them, or they might win one nil. But it could be worse than that. They could toy with them, like Floyd Mayweather used to do."
06:10 PM
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
"It’s not easy to say something apart from it’s the darkest day I’ve had leading these players. We weren’t good enough, individually, as a team, can’t give a team like Liverpool them chances and unfortunately we did.
The whole performance wasn’t good enough. It’s mine. The coaching staff, brilliant, I choose the way we approach the game, today we weren’t clinical enough.
There were spaces for both teams and when you give good players space, they score. Today they scored their chances early on. I think Man United, we should always try at home to go and stamp our authority on the game.
That fourth goal is the one that you go into half-time with having to score more than one every 15 minutes."
(He might not be any good at managing a football team, but his mental arithmetic is still tip-top - AT)
"I know these boys are capable of this. But the fourth, that was game over. You can look back at last season, we lose 6-1 to Spurs, this is worse. The opposition, it makes it miles worse for me as a Manchester lad. I’ve come too far, we’ve come too far, we’re too close to give up now.
The supporters were fantastic, it could have gone one way or the other, in true Man United supporter way they stayed, supported the team to the end. I understand human nature, players are going to be low, you look into the eyes, the character, we know we’re rock bottom, can’t feel any worse than this, see where we can take it."
06:04 PM
Gary Neville
"Ole is under massive pressure."
05:58 PM
As bad as can be for United
05:57 PM
Harry Maguire
"Apologies to the fans. Nowhere near good enough for this club. We apologise. They stuck with us, coming off the pitch at 5-0 singing.
"In the first half it was too open. We gave them too many chances.
"I will be looking at myself, my performance. I am the captain and I lead the boys. You have to look at yourself in the mirror and ask what you can do better. And not what others can do better.
"It hurts to lose to Liverpool. The third goal was poor, we were in it at 2-0. We were just too open.
"I look at that group of lads, they are working hard in training, and we have to stick together. We’re doing everything we can and we’re working as hard as possible, but at the moment it’s not good enough. I keep coming back to that phrase but it’s the only way I can put it.”
Harry Maguire holds his large head in despair - EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
05:49 PM
Gary Neville
"Manchester United do not have the players who can press, and I don't mean just Ronaldo."
"I didn’t think it’d ever get as bad as it did today. It’s been close for 40, 50 years - not today. It’s a shocker, absolute shocker. And the timing could not be worse. As soon as they played a proper team they’ve been obliterated, pulled to pieces. I didn’t think they’d play like that today because I thought they’d flip a switch. But you can’t flip a switch in football. That Manchester United group of players, they get outrun - they’re one of the lowest running teams in the league - there’s nothing worse than being told you’re one of the lowest running teams in the league and the easiest to play against, but they’re both. It reflects poorly on the manager, the staff and the players."
Sky's pundits are pulling apart United's so-called press. Fernandes is tearing around at the keeper, but then others are, or aren't, and they are all basically doing their own thing and leaving huge gaps.
05:47 PM
Scholes
Paul Scholes when he's asked what his favourite part of his daughter is: https://t.co/ik4eYxlg7g
"I didn't think it would be as bad as that. That was a shocker. It has been building for a few weeks against half decent teams. Those United players get out run, we see that week in week out. They are easy to play against. And that is a poor reflection on the players, the staff and their manager."
"These are things that these players do time and time again. They are nowhere near it."
Hoping Sky have had Roy Keane rushed to the studio in a police escort to deliver his thoughts
"Liverpool looked like a team that had another gear. Manchester United looked like they are trying to find a way of playing, which seems daft for a Premier League team. They have players who are capable of great things, but that does not make them great players."
05:41 PM
Jamie Carragher
"I’m not trying to be clever, but I don’t think Liverpool were at their absolute best. Whenever they made passes, and got in and around the back four - it’s a joke of a back four the way they’re playing at the moment - they were just a mess, Keystone Cops type defending.
"Drink this in. You can hear the supporters, it’ll never get better than that. One slight disappointment - half an hour with ten men. United and Liverpool are the biggest rivals in world football, you’re not going to get that opportunity too often."
05:38 PM
Salah
Mohamed Salah scores the third - Getty Images
05:34 PM
Klopp enjoyed it!
Jurgen Klopp celebrates after the match - Reuters
05:32 PM
Reactions
Graeme Souness: "They were clinical, they were fabulous at times. I’ve said before it’s never easy for Liverpool, coming here - it was today. United are vulnerable, they’re between two stools, don’t know what direction they’re going in and that must be down to the coaching staff and the manager. Several of the goals they were caught between pressing and not pressing. They didn’t have a game plan. For Liverpool they were fabulous throughout. It was a sad, sad day for United. But fair play to their supporters - most of them stayed to the very end."
Rio Ferdinand: "We are always gonna pose a threat because of the individuals we have…..but we are so easy to play through it’s unreal! Embarrassing 1st half… men against boys!"
05:31 PM
How can he survive?
United have never strayed from the line that Solskjaer has the owner & executive/board’s full backing. Even the slightest deviation from that now will signal the end is coming for him. But it’s very hard to be that unequivocal after a result like this
That's the best you can say. They were 5-0 after 50 minutes and you would have bet big money on there being further goals.
05:29 PM
Ronaldo had a goal chalked off for offside
Manchester United's Portuguese stars Cristiano Ronaldo and Bruno Fernandes had days to forget - AFP
05:26 PM
We will keep the blog going here
Manager reactions should be a treat!
But I will also put Jason Burt's match report above.
05:24 PM
Full time: Man United 0 Liverpool 5
Sensational. One of the great results of the Premier League era. Reaction follows.
05:22 PM
90+ mins: Man United 0 Liverpool 5
Salah slips Curtis Jones through, it looks like they have a big overlap here, Jones tries to go himself but the shot is blocked. Sadio Mane protests.
05:21 PM
89 mins: Man United 0 Liverpool 5
Liverpool having all the ball, and they want another. They lose it now, though. Ronaldo and Cavani work it out to Wan-Bissaka. His cross deflected behind for the corner.
05:16 PM
86 mins: Man United 0 Liverpool 5
Wan-Bissaka is into the book for a foul on Jota. Dion Dublin on the BBC: "It is terrible at the moment. It is really hard to watch Manchester United play like this. They are completely inept of any ideas of what to do.
05:16 PM
85 mins: Man United 0 Liverpool 5
OGS has tried a pressing approach but without the players to do it. Ronaldo, Greenwood, Rashford - they are just not that sort of attacker. So basically some of them tried to press and some of them didn't. That put huge pressure on the defence.
05:15 PM
Sums it up
Manchester United's Scott McTominay - EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
05:13 PM
82 mins: Man United 0 Liverpool 5
United have a freekick from the right, McTominay heads it back across, Cavani has a chance to finish from close range but hits the bar.
On second look, Cavani shot and it was deflected onto the bar off Robertson, more by luck than judgement.
05:11 PM
80 mins: Man United 0 Liverpool 5
Sadio Mane has it on the edge of the box, tries to go himself. Jones, who is in a much better position outside him on the left, berates his colleague.
05:10 PM
77 mins: Man United 0 Liverpool 5
Sadio Mane is the man who comes on. Liverpool playing it around. "This is the best United can hope for," says Gurreh. "That Liverpool just run the clock down and don't score any more."
05:07 PM
76 mins: Man United 0 Liverpool 5
Firmino is coming off. "We are seeing the difference of a team versus a group of individuals," says Jamie Carragher. nobody a better team player than Firmino, another terrific shift.
05:06 PM
Sir Alex not looking too happy
Sir Alex - AFP
Manchester United’s worst home defeats
0-5 v Sunderland - March 1893
0-5 v Manchester City - Feb 1955
0-5 v Liverpool - Oct 2021
1-6 v Manchester City - Jan 1926
1-6 v Manchester City - Oct 2011
1-6 v Tottenham Hotspur - Oct 2020
0-6 v Aston Villa - March 1914
0-6 v Huddersfield - Sept 1930
2-7 v Sheffield Wednesday - Feb 1961
1-7 v Newcastle - Sept 1927
05:05 PM
73 mins: Man United 0 Liverpool 5
Salah wants more. He's having a go at Jota, he reckons that his colleague should have slipped him a better pass there.
Liverpool have had 88% of the ball in the last ten. One of the great Premier League batterings.
05:02 PM
71 mins: Man United 0 Liverpool 5
Trent powers at the goal and cracks an excellent shot. Good save from DDG to tip that over.
05:00 PM
68 mins: Man United 0 Liverpool 5
"Ole's at the wheel," sing the Liverpool supporters. What a day they must be having.
04:59 PM
67 mins: Man United 0 Liverpool 5
Gary Neville not waiting for the corpse to stop twitching before he begins the post-mortem. This is very enjoyable.
04:56 PM
63 mins: Man United 0 Liverpool 5
The fans are streaming out of Old Trafford.
I hope Keita is okay. That looked nasty.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is coming on to replace Naby Keita.
Diogo Dalot and Edinson Cavani on. Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford come off. Lucky them.
04:50 PM
59 mins: Man United 0 Liverpool 5
Pogba is gonna get sent off.
Pogba has flown into a tackle on Keita. Two footed. Taylor gives him the yellow right away but I can tell you straight away that's going to be upgraded to a red on VAR. Horrible tackle.
Gary Neville: "Paul Pogba does not have a leg to stand on."
Martin Tyler: "Naby Keita is lucky that he does..."
Pogba is sent off.
Poor Keita is also going off - on a stretcher.
Paul Pogba's red card on Naby Keita - Getty Images Europe
04:47 PM
56 mins: Man United 0 Liverpool 5
Liverpool hack the freekick into the wall. Salah the man who struck it in the end after some false touches, sneaky petes etc to shift the position.
04:46 PM
55 mins: Man United 0 Liverpool 5
Maguire has brought down Jota on the edge of the box. Not sure if that was a foul or not, he certainly got at least some of the ball, but the ref seems in little doubt and Brave Sir Harry is booked. It gives Liverpool a freekick right on the edge of the box, dead central.
I think he did catch the player first.
04:44 PM
52 mins: Man United 0 Liverpool 5
Ronaldo has the ball in the net, but he is offside. This could hardly get any funnier. Sensational entertainment from the Barclays
04:42 PM
Chapeau to the Sky camera operator
who has just picked out a dismayed looking Sir Alex in the stands, puffing out his cheeks, and then immediately focused on Sir Kenny Dalglish - who is laughing in delight.
04:41 PM
GOAL! Man United 0 Liverpool 5 (Salah 49)
That's it! That is it the hat-trick.
Pogba loses the ball in the centre of the park, surrounded by United players, Henderson plays a lovely through ball for Salah and the great forward sticks that away. It's his hat-trick, five minutes into the second half and the United fans are streaming for the exits.
04:37 PM
46 mins: Man United 0 Liverpool 4
Fernandes into the book for a foul on Curtis Jones.
"It has been coming for five or six weeks, but they haven't played a good team yet. Shockingly awful."
04:36 PM
United
attacking side looked fine, but defensively incompetent and incoherent in midfield. Ole's solution? Mason Greenwood off, Paul Pogba on.
Ooookay then.
Looks like a midfield diamond.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer appears at a loss during a first half in which his side conceded FOUR goals to Liverpool - AFP/Getty
04:27 PM
Exceptional
What a half of football. United are a proper fiasco without the ball. This has to be it for Ole, doesn't it?
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer staggers off, the deafening boos ringing in his ears.
Naby Keita scores the opening goal - OLI SCARFF/AFP via Getty Images
04:21 PM
GOAL! Man United 0 Liverpool 4 (Salah 45+4)
It's four! Yet again, all of United's defenders flock to the ball, they're all hopelessly out of position. Dear me. Maguire - what are you playing at, man?! This opens up, obviously, a huge amount of space, Salah is alone in it in the inside right channel, Jota gives him the ball, and Salah slots the ball away with a crisp finish.
04:19 PM
44 mins: Man United 0 Liverpool 3
Mason Greenwood slides it through to Ronaldo. Alisson rushes out and denies him. Now Curtis Jones comes in to tidy up, he goes down as he and CR tangle for it. Curtis Jones is down on the floor as Ronaldo now boots at him. Initially it looks like he has just belted him in the stomach but Cristiano is smarter than that. He's in fact kicked the ball, which is nestled against Curtis Jones's stomach, meaning that it is painful but with the right amount of plausible deniability. The upshot is a minor bit of multi-belligerent handbags, and a yellow card for the preposterous Portuguese.
Ronaldo hacks the ball at Curtis Jones - Getty Images
04:15 PM
44 mins: Man United 0 Liverpool 3
Rash nearly dances through, and nearly slips it to Ronaldo, who is nearly in... But no.
04:13 PM
41 mins: Man United 0 Liverpool 3
Luke Shaw is booked for grabbing Salah.
04:11 PM
40 mins: Man United 0 Liverpool 3
Sir Ferguson in the stands, face like thunder. More so than usual, I mean.
The most pertinent question I’ve heard on United is this:
If City/Liverpool/Arsenal/Spurs/Chelsea needed a manager, would Solskjaer ever be on the list?
Ronaldo thinks he is clear, but the offside flag says otherwise.
04:09 PM
GOAL! Man United 0 Liverpool 3 (Salah 38)
Ten in ten for Salah! Some United players are pressing, some aren't, they get drawn to the ball again like a group of seven year olds. Keita plays it across, and there's that man Salah to tuck it away.
Tiny bit of fortune I guess in that Salah shot, Maguire blocked it, and it fell kindly for Keita out on the right. His cross and Salah's finish were suitable precise and United are now looking at a proper battering. To which I think the only correct response is "ha ha ha."
04:07 PM
36 mins: Man United 0 Liverpool 2
United are pitiful in defence but that's not to say they don't have excellent moments. Lovely bit of play here sends Rashford through, Marcus cannot quite connect with a shot as the ball drops. As others have pointed out, it's very clearly a collection of attacking talents in need of a coach, a system.
Robertson has to step in with an excellent defensive header just as the ball was about to find its way to Ronaldo.
04:05 PM
32 mins: Man United 0 Liverpool 2
United have a corner, Shaw the man who plays it in. Creates plenty of havoc in the Liv box, but cleared eventually.
04:04 PM
31 mins: Man United 0 Liverpool 2
Rashford with a mistake and Salah is in! Bearing down on goal, one-on-one with the keeper. No support though so he has to try and beat him from a narrow angle. Beaten away.
04:02 PM
30 mins: Man United 0 Liverpool 2
Alexander-Arnold looking dangerous. He delivers a corner, Maguire heads clear, but only as far as Keita. He tries a shot, gets it all wrong, but it turns into a dangerous through ball for Firmino, who cannot quite tuck it away at the far post.
04:01 PM
29 mins: Man United 0 Liverpool 2
Greenwood with a sharp shot, Alisson does well.
04:00 PM
28 mins: Man United 0 Liverpool 2
United having a decent spell. Liverpool, sensibly, slow the game down a bit.
03:57 PM
26 mins: Man United 0 Liverpool 2
Jones's first contribution is to lose the ball. Lucky for him, United cannot produce something from a good position.
03:55 PM
25 mins: Man United 0 Liverpool 2
Milner has slipped and tweaked himself. Looking like he might be off. Curtis Jones coming on.
Keita's also looking a bit peaky. He got some sort of knock or niggle but seems ok.
03:53 PM
22 mins: Man United 0 Liverpool 2
Luke Shaw from the left, gives it a go with a hard low daisycutter of a shot across Alisson. That wasn't a million miles away.
03:52 PM
Here's Jota tucking away the second
Diogo Jota of Liverpool scores the second goal past David De Gea - Getty Images Europe
03:50 PM
19 mins: Man United 0 Liverpool 2
Ball played into the Liverpool box, not cleared very well, and it drops to Ronaldo. Rather a wild effort from the great man, miles over.
Gareth Southgate is in the stands. He can't have been very impressed with Shaw and Maguire there.
03:48 PM
17 mins: Man United 0 Liverpool 2
United without question have the players to hit back but, as Gary Neville says, "their organisation, their press - which is down to the coaching team - are just not good enough."
03:44 PM
GOAL! Man United 0 Liverpool 2 (Jota 13)
That is pathetic, an absolute embarrassment. Simple enough ball played into the United central defensive area, Maguire and Shaw both blunder towards it as if transfixed. They get in each others way, totally opening up acres of space. Incompetence, no other word for it. Keita has the ball, has all the time he needs to feed it out to the right wing, where Trent AA is, unsurprisingly, unmarked.
Alexander-Arnold with a hard low cross from the right, Jota tucks it away. He was unmarked in the six yard box, as was Milner alongside him.
03:43 PM
10 mins: Man United 0 Liverpool 1
United in fairness look dangerous when they counter attack, Marcus Rashford drives forward and fizzes the shot wide.
03:40 PM
9 mins: Man United 0 Liverpool 1
Salah breaks, looking a bit offside to me but the flag stays down, he tries to cut in from the right and fire with the left in his trademark style, but he drags it wide.
03:38 PM
7 mins: Man United 0 Liverpool 1
It's nearly a second! Fred has lost the ball, Liverpool are in again, and it's lucky for MUFC that the ball through to Firmino just sends him a tiny bit too wide. Keeper can smother it. But dear me that is a shambles from United again.
03:36 PM
GOAL! Man United 0 Liverpool 1 (Keita 5)
That's the opener, and it all looks far too easy. Liverpool attack down the left, loads of United guys seem to get drawn out to that side and there are now absolutely acres in the centre of the park. Salah gets it, sees that Keita is running through. The simplest of balls sends Keita through, and he tucks it away with no fuss.
Pathetic from United, their attempts to press were all over the place, individual errors of positioning, and in the end it was Luke Shaw versus three!
03:34 PM
4 mins: Man United 0 Liverpool 0
Brilliant move from United. Rashford down the left, Ronaldo and Greenwood combine slick and intuitive. Slipped out to Fernandes on the right - glorious chance! Oh no, smashed well high and wide. That was an excellent move and should really have been 1-0.
03:32 PM
2 mins: Man United 0 Liverpool 0
Trent Alexander-Arnold with an early touch, seeking Firmino. Cut out. United defending quite deep.
03:31 PM
1 mins: Man United 0 Liverpool 0
Mild afternoon, good atmosphere, let's get to it.
03:31 PM
Keita, Henderson and Milner
might not be the most exciting Liverpool midfield ever, but in their six PL starts as a power trio, they have won 5 and drawn 1. And talking of starts, here we go!
Manchester United vs Liverpool live stream score Premier League latest updates - Getty Images
03:26 PM
The players are in the tunnel
Henderson leads the Liverpool guys out. Jota gets a start, in favour of Mane.
03:21 PM
The Egyptian Magician
warms up.
Liverpool's Mohamed Salah warming up before the Premier League match at Old Trafford - PA
03:17 PM
Liverpool are fielding
a bit of a reduced side, you have to say. "A workmanlike midfield, not a lot of creativity in there," says Souness. "But you know what you are going to get from that midfield three, they will work their socks off for the cause."
03:17 PM
Jurgen Klopp
"We respect them, their counter attacking threat is massive."
On that subject, Jamie Carragher thinks that the surprise inclusion of Ibrahima Konate in the defence might be because "of his pace", because Rashford has caused them problems in the past with his speed.
03:13 PM
Solskjaer's pre-match thoughts
Ole's insight on his team selection for #MUNLIV ℹ️🔴#MUFC
The Liverpool manager says Jota "was in outstanding scoring form" before he picked up a knock on international duty for Portugal and needed a bit of time to recover.
He adds that Konate "is training on the highest level...and we saw a few things where we thought it would be a good game for him".
03:01 PM
A reminder of the starting XIs
Man Utd: de Gea, Wan Bissaka, Lindelof, Maguire, Shaw, McTominay, Fred, Greenwood, Bruno Fernandes, Rashford, Ronaldo. Subs: Bailly, Pogba, Lingard, Dalot, Cavani, Sancho, Henderson, Matic, van de Beek.
Fans outside the stadium hold up half-and-half scarves before the Premier League match at Old Trafford, Manchester Edinson Cavani looms large - Reuters
01:31 PM
Carragher on Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
Our columnist wrote on Saturday that the Manchester United manager reminds him of Jamie Carragher the player.
He’s done a good job at Manchester United. I honestly believe that. He’s probably exceeded expectations. There’s been entertainment you didn’t get under Louis van Gaal and Jose Mourinho. But he’s never going to be at the level of the three managers he’s got to beat. He’s never going to be them. He’s never going to have that gravitas. He hasn’t got the presence of Klopp at Liverpool, he’s hasn’t got the trophies behind him that Guardiola has at Barcelona, Bayern Munich and now Manchester City so that when he speaks the players hang off his every word.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer believes Jadon Sancho is still adapting to life in the Premier League but will eventually justify his £73 million price tag.
The England winger will hope to be involved against Liverpool at Old Trafford today (SUN) with his manager warning there is “no time to lose” if United are to join the early-season Premier League title chase.
But Sancho, who has only started three of United’s eight league games to date, has yet to reach the heights expected when he arrived from Borussia Dortmund this summer.
The return of fit-again Marcus Rashford has added to the competition for United’s forward positions but Solskjaer still expects Sancho, 21, to live up to his billing.
“He’s English and lived in Manchester before but he’s not played in the Premier League until now,” said Solskjaer.
“He’s got Champions League experience, great experience with Dortmund, but now it’s the Premier League is the best league in the world and he’s come in here, he’s going to give us so much in the years to come.
“He’s humble, he’s hard working, he wants to learn and I’m looking forward to see him develop and blossom because he will.
“He’s had moments with us that has had the crowd really on the edge of their seats. Can he add the next bit? Yes I’m sure and he will do.”
Of his 11 appearances for United in all competitions this season, Sancho has completed just one full 90 minutes - when Solskjaer made 11 changes for a home Carabao Cup defeat to West Ham.
In the Premier League, on his three starts, Sancho has yet to play longer than the 72-minute mark, an indication that the England international winger is still adapting to the physical rigours posed by his first taste of English domestic football.
Nor has Sancho been alone in still playing his way into peak match form.
Cristiano Ronaldo, although spectacular in terms of his contribution, arrived after the start of the Premier League season while, in addition to Rashford returning from shoulder surgery, striker Edinson Cavani is still playing his way to full fitness after a lengthy summer break.
It explains while the United manager expects his team to show vast improvements in the coming weeks in their attacking play.
“I’d expect us to improve in the next couple of months, definitely,” said Solskjaer.
“Of course, Cristiano has been here for a month, Jadon has been here for two months, Marcus is just coming back. Edinson had a longer run up to when he could join us.
“So I expect us to improve, definitely. And it is exciting to have these types of players to work with.
“Then it is about finding the balance between, how big we’re going to make the pitch and, you know, Edinson and Cristiano are two of the best box players in world football and you’ve got exciting wingers, goalscorers. I’m sure we’ll improve.”
In the shorter term, Solskjaer has emphasised the need to keep pace with the early-season Premier League leaders this afternoon.
Defeat to Liverpool would leave United seven points behind Jurgen Klopp’s side while a much-needed victory for Solskjaer’s side would cut the visitors’ advantage to a solitary point.
While the United manager avoided categorising the game as a “must-win” fixture, he has warned his team about the urgency of their position.
“Of course we’ve lost some points recently that we’re not happy with but we are in the situation we’re in and we have to take it from here and really, really get going,” he said.
“Because there’s no time to lose, because even though it’s a long season the teams we’re competing against are not going to give you too many options to catch them.”
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Yahoo Sport 
