Plum skin Witch later, he was very angry at his side’s “unprofessional” show. Liverpool made an even 7-0 humiliation Manchester United’s heaviest competitive defeat ever.
A week after lifting the Carabao Cup and ending the club’s six-year wait for silverware, Old Trafford giants are back on earth with a punch from Jurgen Klopp. reds in a rocking Anfield.
Cody Gakpo’s clever kick put Liverpool ahead at the timeout, and no one could have predicted how United would unravel, as an even first half followed by a chaotic second period.
Gakpo, Darwin Nunez and Liverpool’s all-time Premier League top scorer Mohamed Salah closed the day with two goals each, while substitute Roberto Firmino completed a win that will live on in both clubs’ memories.
Sunday’s 7-0 Anfield destruction equaled United’s record competitive defeats against Blackburn in 1926, Aston Villa in 1930 and the Wolves in 1931, infuriating Ten Hag.
“The result is pretty clear,” said the Dutchman. It’s not professional.
“But I think there’s a huge gap in Brentford[in August]. We were down 4-0 at halftime, so we started the game very poorly.
“Today, halftime, I think we were the better team. Halftime, we created better chances and played two-on-one with the goalkeeper and they didn’t.
“Then we make a mistake in the pre-half organization and we score a goal, so I think we’re in the game.
“So it was a real surprise to me that we gave up the game so quickly at halftime.
“First two goals, two defensive transitions. The first was a turnover, the second was a counter.
“We make such bad decisions that it’s a matter of ball decisions. Of course it was in the first game but then how we predicted, how we conceded that goal is really frustrating.
“Then the third was a contraption, but also very unprofessional about decisions, not following, then running, advancing, gapping at the back end of midfield, not following back. And especially that, not following back.
“Then 3-0, then the game was lost. Then you have to stick together as a team, and that’s what we didn’t do, and it came as a surprise to me.
“I didn’t see that from my team, I don’t think we were. I do not think so Manchester Unitedso this is really bad and weak.
Ten Hag boiled over as he spoke in the bowels of Anfield, saying at the press conference that the United players were “no longer cooperating and doing their job together” in the second half.
The group awaits an unsettling scrutiny at Carrington on Monday, with the Dutch demanding a response against Real Betis in Thursday’s Europa League last 16 debut.
When asked if the actors had made a statement regarding their performance in the second half, Ten Hag replied, “No, I haven’t given them a chance until now. I think we should talk about this.
“I just said my opinion on the matter. We’ll talk about that tomorrow.
“But then I know this team will reset and we have to come back. We’ve shown in the past that we can do it.”
United came back from the humiliating defeats of Brighton and Brentford in the first two games of the season, beating Liverpool in August. They also had a winning response to a 6-3 loss to neighbors Manchester City in October.
“I have some (similar experiences in my career) that have had bad days,” Ten Hag said.
“But they are also days when you do the right things, react with the right measures as a manager, and as a team you can learn a lot from this, strengthen your mindset.”
The defeat seems to dampen United’s hopes for a championship accusation, but their largely positive performance this season means Ten Hag won’t be swayed.
“If it was more frequent then it was a pattern, but we’ve had very good results in recent weeks, months, very good performances,” he added.
“It was a really bad performance and I’m talking about the second half because in the first half I think this team, our team played really well. They played really well.”