It is a familiar post-match scene. The manager sits up on a little stage, the press down in front of him, and attempts to explain it all away, to make his excuses. And so there we were at Anfield on Tuesday night, in the aftermath of Manchester United’s 4-0 hiding by Liverpool, a result that raised many questions, including whether it had been more or less humiliating for the visitors than the previous instalment. That was last October, when Liverpool won 5-0 at Old Trafford.
How had it happened again? The club is “obviously in a difficult situation”, came the response, a line that touched on United’s myriad problems, taking in the fan fury towards the ownership and even some of the players, the lack of joined-up thinking, the dismal form, a selection crisis.
