Gary Neville and Graeme Souness were involved in a heated discussion about the quality of Liverpool's performance in their convincing win over Manchester United.
Erik ten Hag's side were thrashed 7-0 by Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday afternoon, despite being just 1-0 down at half-time. The Merseyside outfit scored six times in the second period to record their biggest-ever victory over United.
Three players scored two goals for Jurgen Klopp's men, with Cody Gakpo, Mohamed Salah and Darwin Nunez all grabbing braces, before substitute Roberto Firmino scored the seventh and final goal of the afternoon in the 88th minute.
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Liverpool have endured a difficult campaign so far this season and are currently in a fight to finish inside the top four, while also facing a potential exit from the Champions League after losing 5-2 to Real Madrid in the first leg of their last-16 tie. Despite this, the Merseyside outfit were rampant against United and were worthy winners.
After the game, former Liverpool player Souness claimed that Reds legend Neville had told him off-air that Liverpool didn't play that well against Ten Hag's side.
Speaking on Sky Sports - with Jamie Carragher also getting involved - here is a full transcript of the discussion:
Souness: "Can I just pull it back, Gary put it on me at the start of the show if I would repeat on the air about how I think Liverpool will win well today, comfortably. Gary said off the air that he thought Liverpool played badly today."
Neville: "I didn’t say that."
Souness: "What did you say?"
Neville: "I said first half I think Manchester United were the better team. In the second half it was just about Manchester United’s capitulation."
Souness: "So that would be nothing to do with Liverpool playing well?"
Carragher: "You said you didn’t think Liverpool played well."
Neville: "I don’t think Jurgen Klopp, he’ll analyse that game tomorrow and the momentum he’ll take from that, he won’t think, 'oh, we’re back'. He won’t fall into that trap. They won’t get carried away off the back of that, Liverpool, at all."
Souness: "We’re not talking about getting carried away, we’re talking about them playing well today."
Neville: "Look at you gloating like little children."
Souness: "No, because you just can’t come out with a daft remark saying, 'Liverpool didn’t play well today'."
Neville: "My point is I’ve seen Liverpool play well for five or six years and they’ve put in some of the best performances I’ve ever seen. They’re still not back anywhere near that."
Carragher: "So did Liverpool play well today?"
Neville: "They played alright in the second half, they won the game, no problem. I’ve said congratulations, well done. Congratulations. My point is when you get beat seven nil it becomes about how bad the other team are. Manchester United in that second half - Luke Shaw, Varane, Martinez, Dalot, that midfield, they were an absolute shambles."
Souness: "You’ve said they didn’t play very well."
Carragher: "You’ve got to give credit to the team that wins seven."
Neville: "I’ve given you credit, James. You’ve won seven nil, congratulations. You’ve got three points, well done."
Souness: "I’ve never heard him call you James before - you’ve got him. You’ve got him."
Neville: " You got the three points, seven nil, and that’s fine, but I still think Liverpool in that first half were really vulnerable. It was a shaky Liverpool in that first half."
Souness: "For 25 minutes they were the best team. Manchester United finished the half with about 10 or 15 minutes, before Liverpool scored they were the threatening team. The best chance they had was when Rashford rolled the ball off his studs."
Neville: "Graeme, I thought there was a period I didn’t think Liverpool looked like they were going to score in the first 20 minutes, for me. I felt as though they were huffing and puffing a little bit, but when Manchester United got on top they had a couple of big moments and should have scored."
Souness: "Rashford rolled the ball off his studs. The best chance they had was Rashford."
Neville: "To be fair, I thought United at the start showed authority."
Souness: "You think Man United were the better team in the first half?"
Neville: "I do."
Souness: "Not a chance."
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