Erik ten Hag tore into his Manchester United players describing their performance as “really unprofessional” after watching his side get hammered 7-0 by Liverpool at Anfield to damage their title hopes.
United conceded six second-half goals to succumb to their worst-ever defeat at the hands of their long-time rivals.
Liverpool led through Cody Gakpo’s effort just before the interval but the hosts ran riot after the Red Devils crumbled in a dismal second-half display.
Gakpo, Mohamed Salah and Darwin Nunez all grabbed braces with Roberto Firmino adding the seventh late on to complete.
Ten Hag’s side had been tipped to challenge for the quadruple going into the game off the back of their Carabao Cup success, with United third in the Premier League and also in the latter stages of the Europa League and FA Cup.
But after being torn apart by Liverpool at Anfield, Ten Hag questioned his players’ professionalism and accused the players of failing to follow instructions and stick to their roles in an angry rant.
“I think we played a decent first half. One mistake in organisation just before half-time,” Ten Hag told BBC Match of the Day.
“Second half it was just not us. It was not our standards. We didn’t play as a team. It was unprofessional.
Asked if he was feeling angry, Ten Hag replied: “Yes [I am angry]. Definitely
“I am surprised because I have seen the last weeks and months this team is resilient and has a winning attitude. Second half we didn’t have a winning attitude at all. We didn’t stick to the plan and we didn’t do our jobs
“We didn’t track back and it was really unprofessional. We have seen in the past we can bounce back. After Brentford, after Manchester City. This is definitely a strong setback and is unacceptable. I’m really disappointed and angry about it. It is a reality check. We have to take this strong.”
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