Manchester United failed transfer of 2013 shows why Liverpool have embarrassed them again

It’s hard to pick out the moment that Manchester United’s humiliation at Anfield reached its peak, but it may well have been at a time when second half hadn’t even kicked off.

As Martin Atkinson waited to get his technical issues fixed, the two sets of players asked for a ball to be kicked on to keep warm.

Mohamed Salah was the first to make the demand and as Liverpool’s players zipped the ball around, United’s beaten team stood motionless with the ball still in the centre of the pitch for five or six seconds before deciding they should do the same.

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But as those United players exchanged passes the Kop belted out ‘ole’ every time one found its intended target. It was a not-so-subtle reminder that United had barely had a decent look at the match ball in the first half.

Towards the end of those first 45 minutes, the Liverpool fans sang of how “they played the s***e on a Tuesday night and they hardly touched the ball”. Now they had their own to play with. What a treat.

It didn’t last long. Once Atkinson’s communications were back online United were back to chasing shadows.

The verdicts from Anfield will either focus on Liverpool’s brilliance or how abysmal this United side are and both judgements are accurate.

Liverpool didn’t so much demolish United as just toy with them. It was like a team of pussycats forever chasing a ball that would remain tantalisingly out of reach and generally it was the masterful Thiago Alcantara pulling the strings.

The 31-year-old controlled the midfield at Anfield, finding passes that rarely looked on and threading the ball between the statuesque figures of Nemanja Matic and Bruno Fernandes.

How United could do with a midfielder who has