Manchester United 2-1 Liverpool: The Mailbox reacts as Klopp’s side enter mini ‘crisis’

Manchester United were made to look like world beaters by Liverpool. Are the Reds now in a crisis? Plus, Liverpool need Casemiro more than Man Utd, Klopp stinker, TAA and lots more…

Send your views on that to theeditor@football365.com…

Man Utd world beaters?!
That whole performance was an embarrassment. We made one of the worst Man Utd teams in twenty years look like world beaters. Worse still we watched on as they outfought, out ran and out thought us.

Carragher said it in commentary and a few people said it on Twitter too, but it seems like something has changed in the Liverpool dressing room. There’s no cohesion on the pitch anymore. Is it Salah’s contract that’s annoying the other top players? Was Mané really that important to the team spirit? Or is it Klopp’s unending loyalty to his old guard? Or the fact that all our injury prone players are all midfielders?

Firmino today was the worst defensive midfielder on the pitch. He made McTominay look like Kante. Maybe some would question why Klopp would deploy an ageing forward as a six but that’s the only explanation of why he played more than 45 minutes today. He stank the place out in the first half and actively kept us from fighting back second half. Henderson and Milner added nothing.

Man City are predictable so I don’t mind that we are predictable but when you’re predictable and easily nullified by a defence that conceded 4 to Brentford questions need to be asked. Firmino didn’t help this; he dropped so deep that both Salah and Diaz could be doubled up on.

Let’s not fool ourselves into thinking this game has shown how far Man Utd have come under the new manager. They’re going to finish 5th at best this season. But it does shine an alarming light on something being deeply wrong with Liverpool right now. I don’t mind us losing at Old Trafford; that’ll happen to any team in any season because it’s still a big club with some magic about it. Liverpool were shit through most of the 90s and still sprung up with a few wins against great United teams. The key concern is that, for the seventh time in a row, we have conceded first. For the third game this season we have looked asleep for long periods and this time we showed no determination or fight or guile at any stage on the match. Maybe last season ended up being such a damp squib and the team are still hungover from it? Either way they’ll need to wake up very soon or this season will end significantly more disappointingly than last.
Minty, LFC

Match thoughts…
As a Liverpool fan, I have enjoyed Man Utd going from one low to the next. Culminating in their hammerings by us the last couple of seasons, and of course their early season defeats this season. However, they were excellent tonight and throughly deserving of their win. They demonstrated hunger, desire, and played at a pace Liverpool couldn’t handle. Throughly deserved for an excellent performance. Enjoy Utd fans as this is now the level you require week in week out.

For Liverpool it looks like a hangover from last seasons epic performances. Are there now signs this team is ageing before our eyes. The midfield certainly needs a re-fresh or at least an injection of something. When you are left with Henderson and Milner starting together you have a problem. Of course they played together last season in our 5-0 win at Utd, but they just don’t have the legs to be the starting pair in consecutive games. Players like Thiago, Keita and Ox are good players. Just not reliable enough to stay fit. Klopp suggested when he arrived that Daniel Sturridge was maybe too sensitive with a knock. These midfielders seem the same.

Tonight though was about Man Utd’s much improved performance and a well deserved win. The inquest into Liverpools awful start will no doubt be a theme the longer it goes on.

Regards,
Kevin

Winning fifty-fifties, winning the second ball, cutting out crosses, blocking shots, closing down the opposition. Whoever would have guessed effort actually makes a difference in sport. This was definitely more Man Utd being good than an admittedly under strength Liverpool being bad. Hoping those dropped take it as the kick in the ass needed to up their games too otherwise Shaw and Maguire can kiss the world cup goodbye pretty quickly.
Jon, Cape Town (need the effort every week though, not just against the scousers)

Liverpool in crisis?
Nobody, *nobody*  has more respect for the Fine History of Liverpool Football Club than me. But.
Dan, MUFC

Casemiro
Apparently Liverpool are making a very late bid to hijack Casemiro’s move to Man United.

Clearly they need him a lot more than United do.
Michael C

Klopp stinker incoming?
Anyone remember that time around 2014 when, for no apparent reason, Klopp’s Borussia Dortmund had an absolute stinker of a season? Because it’s all I can think about lately.
Martin M

Lucky Liverpool fans
Last season I wrote in on a few occasions to point out how lucky Liverpool had been over recent seasons. Minty and the rest of the gang got all grumpy and it was all a bit silly.

Anyway, I’d love to write in and say ‘told you so’, but I am sure others will take far greater joy in speaking of this. That’s too easy. Liverpool’s capitulation this season speaks for itself.

What really irritates me is how quickly Liverpool fans, who have been blessed with success over the past few years, luckily or not, have turned on the club. They are all over the place on social media, on here, in the streets, slagging of Milner, having a pop at VVD, and crying at the club’s decision to sell Mane amongst other mutterings of discontent.

It’s frustrating and frankly embarrassing. Nothing quite as fickle as fans. Especially Liverpool’s. Hang your heads in shame?
Rob, Dorset

TAA to midfield
Time to fire up the Trent to midfield emails again…
David (Ireland)

Social media break…
And so starts my one week social media hiatus.See you all after we draw one one with Bournemouth on Saturday.

I’ve missed this cunty United tbh… not really.
Nik (not bitter at all), Munich

Half a billion
1/2 a billion for a squad that won four trophies and we had the front to claim City were buying the league. At least they were effective! This squad is done.

As I said many a time, a few bad results this year and our fans would be calling for Klopp to go and so it transpires.

But, one thing I’ve told you all before, the liability on the left wing, the 8 million sandstone lump, while Tsimikas rots on the bench. And now to lose to THIS United side? Outrageous.

Yours,
Mr Value (LFC Hampshire)