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The 2022–23 Premier League match between Liverpool and Manchester United at Anfield, Liverpool, took place on 5 March 2023.[1] Liverpool won 7–0, thus recording their biggest ever competitive win against Manchester United. This surpassed their previous record, which was set in October 1895, a 7–1 victory in the Second Division. This was also the joint-biggest ever defeat suffered by Manchester United and the heaviest since Wolverhampton Wanderers beat them by the same score-line in 1931.[2][3]
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| Event | 2022–23 Premier League | ||||||
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| Date | 5 March 2023 | ||||||
| Venue | Anfield, Liverpool | ||||||
| Man of the Match | Mohamed Salah (Liverpool) | ||||||
| Referee | Andrew Madley | ||||||
| Attendance | 53,001 | ||||||
The match was highly significant in that it was a part of the strong Liverpool F.C.–Manchester United F.C. rivalry in the Northwest Derby, an inter-city derby which is widely considered the biggest fixture across English football and which is also one of the fiercest rivalries in association football across the globe.[4][5][6][7][8][9] Moreover, Mohamed Salah's two goals in the match meant that he became Liverpool's all-time top scorer in the Premier League with 129 goals, overcoming Robbie Fowler's tally of 128. Salah also became the first Liverpool player to score against Manchester United in five consecutive games.[10] With his first goal against Manchester United, Salah became the highest scoring Egyptian ever with 303 career goals, surpassing Hossam Hassan who had scored 302 goals for club & country in all competitions between 1985 and 2007.
In the portion of the 2022–23 Premier League season preceding the historic game, Liverpool, who were runners-up in the previous season,[11] were failing to live up to expectations due in part to the decline in form of many players along with a long injury list.[12][13][14][15][16][17] Moreover, Liverpool lost 2–1 to Manchester United at Old Trafford on 22 August 2022. This was United's first league win against Liverpool since March 2018.[18] Despite this, Liverpool had opened the 2022–23 season by winning the 2022 FA Community Shield with a 3–1 win over Manchester City.[19] On the other hand, Manchester United seemed to be a resurgent force;[20] having established themselves in the Champions League places and having won the EFL Cup, claiming their first trophy since 2017.[21] Manchester United's game against Liverpool was their first league game after their victory in the EFL Cup.
Team selection
Jürgen Klopp selected youngster Harvey Elliott to start alongside Fabinho and Jordan Henderson in midfield. In a press conference after the game, Klopp explained why he had selected Elliott, stating that "Harvey [had] played a top game the other night against Wolves, had the highest counter-pressing outcome of any player in the Premier League this season so if that is not a qualification for starting again then I don't know one, to be honest".[22] With the absence of Luis Díaz due to injury, both Darwin Núñez and Cody Gakpo started in the front line when normally only one of the two would have done so. Erik ten Hag selected a standard line-up, however, he chose to start the improving Diogo Dalot[23][24] over Aaron Wan-Bissaka.
Summary
In the first half, the game appeared to be relatively even, with both Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford missing presentable chances. However, former Old Trafford target Cody Gakpo scored a well-placed goal past David de Gea two minutes before the half-time break after being assisted by Andrew Robertson.[1]
Darwin Núñez scored after 2 minutes of the second half with a header, being assisted by Harvey Elliott. Three minutes later, Mohamed Salah dribbled past and beat defender Lisandro Martínez to play in Gakpo for another goal. Following this, Salah finished a counter-attack by powering a shot, which ricocheted off the underside of the crossbar, into the net. Núñez then scored another header from Jordan Henderson's cross. Proceeding this, Salah scored a close-range goal to become Liverpool's highest Premier League goalscorer. Finally, substitute Roberto Firmino, who had just previously announce that he would depart from Liverpool at the end of the season, nutmegged de Gea to score Liverpool's seventh goal.[1]
Details
      Liverpool
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    Manchester United[26]
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- Match rules
- 90 minutes
- Nine named substitutes
- Maximum of five substitutions[lower-alpha 1]
Statistics
| Statistic | Liverpool | Manchester United |
|---|---|---|
| Goals scored | 7 | 0 |
| Total shots | 18 | 8 |
| Shots on target | 8 | 4 |
| Touches | 669 | 504 |
| Passes | 468 | 314 |
| Tackles | 17 | 15 |
| Clearances | 11 | 25 |
| Ball possession | 59.6% | 40.4% |
| Corner kicks | 4 | 3 |
| Fouls conceded | 13 | 14 |
| Offsides | 0 | 4 |
| Yellow cards | 2 | 3 |
| Red cards | 0 | 0 |
Klopp declared in a press conference that the match had seen a "freak result" and a "top performance" from his side, continuing, "A really top performance from the start, I thought the way we started the game was really special, the best for a long, long, long, long, long, long time. We were there, we were aggressive but we played football."[22] Klopp also stated that the goal scored by "Bobby [Firmino] tonight was obviously the most special moment because of the reception he got".[22] Darwin Núñez was described by Klopp as a "future impact when he settles because he is a real force of nature". Klopp also praised Cody Gakpo, who he opined was playing in a "super-tricky" role, and also gave high and all due praise to Andy Robertson, Harvey Elliott, Mohamed Salah, Jordan Henderson, among others.[22] A resurgent Fabinho was highly praised for his performance and was described as "back" by his manager.[27][28][22] On the other hand, Bruno Fernandes was criticised for allegedly asking to be substituted, with former Manchester United player Gary Neville labelling Fernandes' behaviour "disgraceful". Roy Keane also said: "Fernandes' body language today was nothing short of disgraceful. A really talented boy, he's your captain, but his body language, waving his arms, not running back, you wouldn't be happy with him in your dressing room."[29] In his interview, Erik ten Hag described his team's performance as "unacceptable, unprofessional".[30] The following morning, ten Hag, attempting to punish the team for the defeat, forced his squad to sit in silence and listen to the audio of Liverpool's “ecstatic” celebrations in their dressing room.[31] Moreover, ten Hag told his players that they were lucky to return to Manchester on their team bus rather than make the journey home with their angered away supporters. He also warned his squad that a repeat of such a performance would lead to them being forced to train with the club's Under-21s, and that they should expect to have more sessions with sports psychologist Rainier Koers to aid them in managing with “humiliation”.[31]
Legendary referee Pierluigi Collina later criticised an aspect of the officiating in the game, stating that Manchester United should have been forced to play the full amount of added time in the game despite their one-sided score-line.[32]
In Liverpool's next league game on 11 March 2023, they were defeated by Bournemouth with a score of 1-0. The score was seen as a shock, given the result of Liverpool's previous match.[33] In Manchester United's next league game on 12 March 2023, they experienced a goalless draw to Southampton in which Casemiro received a red card.[34]
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