After winning the Carabao Cup last weekend and progressing to the quarter-finals of the FA Cup in midweek, Manchester United arrived at Anfield on Sunday hoping to do the double over Liverpool for the first time in the league since the 2015/16 campaign.
Erik ten Hag's side have been incredibly impressive in recent months, and their first trophy since 2017 - which came in the Carabao Cup following a 2-0 win over Newcastle in the final at Wembley - was a clear indication of the progress that United have made under the Dutchman this term.
Having lost just five times in the Premier League prior to their visit to Merseyside - two of which came on the opening two weekends of the campaign - the Reds have not been used to tasting defeat this season. Therefore, the 7-0 thrashing at the hands of Jurgen Klopp's side came as a major shock to the system for all involved with United.
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Evidently, the Reds are not the first team in history to turn up to Anfield and lose heavily. In fact, they are not even the first team this season to do that. The Merseyside outfit battered Bournemouth 9-0 at home earlier this term, and while United clearly have greater aspirations than the Cherries, Liverpool have shown that they are capable of overcoming anyone - especially on home turf.
In 2019, after Klopp's men defeated Barcelona 4-0 at home after losing 3-0 in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final tie, Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola suggested that Anfield is like "no other stadium in the world".
The Catalan, who has enjoyed somewhat of a love-hate relationship with the Anfield crowd during his time with the Blues, insisted that the atmosphere created at Liverpool's ground was special and could make opponents feel "small". Since becoming City manager, Guardiola has only won once on Merseyside in the Premier League.
He can actually draw on his own experience of being on the end of a heavy defeat under the lights at Anfield. His City side lost 3-0 in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final in 2018 and ultimately exited the competition at the hands of Klopp's rampant side.
"I thought they'd [Barcelona] score a goal at Anfield, and I am sure the players knew that Anfield is Anfield," he told Catalonian publication Ara. "The motto 'This is Anfield' is no marketing spin. There's something about it that you will find in no other stadium in the world.
"They score a goal and over the next five minutes, you feel that you'll receive another four. You feel small and the rival players seem to be all over. We've all gone through what happened to Barca. They were laughing at me when we were losing 3-0 after the first 15-20 minutes of the quarter-final.
"It's a bugger of a ground and it's the sort of competition where one hand, one offside, Anfield..."
Guardiola knows better than most what Liverpool are capable of doing when they get on a roll. The Catalan referenced Klopp's side's ability to score in quick succession at Anfield. One minute, they can be 1-0 up. The next, it can feel like it's 5-0.
For United, they experienced exactly that on Sunday afternoon. Liverpool were 1-0 up at half-time, but in truth, it was the Reds who had arguably been the better of the two sides. They definitely had the better chances. After a decent first period, Ten Hag will have been keen for his players to come out fighting in the second half - but it was completely the opposite.
Liverpool scored six times in the second half. Three of their players - Cody Gakpo, Mohamed Salah and Darwin Nunez - scored two goals, while Roberto Firmino came off the bench to score the seventh and final goal of the clash. The home side looked a threat every time they went forward in the second period, and their six goals in that half came in the space of 38 minutes.
If Guardiola, who has enjoyed frequent success in England, can be overawed by the Anfield atmosphere, there is certainly no shame in Ten Hag's new-look United side feeling the same way on this occasion. However, they must - as City did in 2021 - make sure they find a way to triumph on Merseyside in the future.
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