There were many words Erik ten Hag could have used to describe his Manchester United players on Sunday afternoon but 'unprofessional' was both carefully chosen and fiercely cutting.
United's mentality in collapsing so readily during that second half will be of huge concern to the Dutchman. His side were arguably the better of the two during the opening 45 minutes, and while talk of giving up has since been dismissed as 'nonsense' by Marcus Rashford, there is no doubt they buckled under Liverpool pressure and discipline went out of the window.
It is that discipline that has been the main pillar of Ten Hag's tenure, the Reds boss instilling a level of professionalism into a club that has for so long lacked it. Benching Rashford for turning up late to a meeting and axing Cristiano Ronaldo after his interview with Piers Morgan were both correct calls.
