Premier League: Anfield blows way in form Manchester United, capitulate 7-0 to Liverpool; in pics

Liverpool brought Manchester United's bandwagon to a shuddering halt as Cody Gakpo, Darwin Nunez and Mohamed Salah all scored twice in a record 7-0 hammering of their arch-rivals to boost their Premier League top-four hopes

A week after a resurgent United claimed their first trophy since 2017 by winning the Carabao Cup and amid talk of a title push they were blown away either side of half-time as Liverpool recorded their biggest-ever margin of victory in the fixture.

Third-placed United had looked marginally the better side for 43 minutes, but it turned into an Anfield horror show for Erik ten Hag's side as they suffered the club's worst defeat to Liverpool

Gakpo's superb finish from Liverpool's first attempt on target gave the hosts the lead at the break.

Within five minutes of the restart it was all over as a contest with Darwin making it 2-0 with a header after some comical United defending

With United in disarray and losing their heads Salah got in on the act to rifle in his side's fourth in the 66th minute and Nunez then sent a header past helpless goalkeeper David De Gea in the 75th minute.

Salah rubbed salt into United wounds with a close-range effort to score a record 129th Premier League goal for the club, taking him past the mark of Liverpool legend Robbie Fowler.

Roberto Firmino then came off the bench to send Klopp's side into seventh heaven although by that stage most of United's followers had headed for the exits.

Liverpool had thrashed United 4-0 at Anfield in April 2022 but considering the reversal of fortunes for the two clubs since that day this result was a major surprise.

United's sobering defeat left them in third place on 49 points and surely out of the title race

Liverpool's fourth win in five league matches lifted them above Newcastle United into fifth on 42 points, three points behind fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur with a game in hand.