Gary Lineker sends 'joyless' jibe at Manchester United amid Liverpool comparison

Gary Lineker has delivered a painful comparison between Manchester United and their arch rivals Liverpool after witnessing an Anfield demolition job on Tuesday night. United were well and truly put to the sword through goals from Luis Diaz, Sadio Mane and a Mo Salah brace in their 4-0 defeat.

Despite reviving their top-four dreams by beating Norwich on Saturday, United made the short trip across the M62 in hope more than expectation. However, an already daunting task became impossible when Diaz and Salah put the hosts two up with only 22 minutes on the clock.

United also lost Paul Pogba to injury after being without six players — including Cristiano Ronaldo — for the Tuesday night showdown. It proved to be an alarming result which has, once again, dampened a push for Champions League qualification amid the ongoing battle with Arsenal and Tottenham.

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Interim manager Ralf Rangnick drew attention for his team selection when recalling Phil Jones in a move that saw United revert to five at the back. However, that did not bring with it further stability as free-scoring rivals Liverpool flexed their immense goal-scoring muscle to maintain their title charge.

Taking a night off from Match of the Day duty, BBC Sport presenter Lineker poked fun at United after the first half by proclaiming Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson was better than any outfield player for the opposition. But his post-match took on a more serious and rather accurate tone.

Addressing his 8.4million followers on Twitter post-game, Lineker said: "That was an absolute demolition job. @LFC were utterly joyous to watch. @ManUtd were utterly joyless to watch."