Rangnick ‘humiliated’ by Liverpool’s latest rout of Manchester United

A clearly unhappy Ralf Rangnick branded Manchester United’s 4-0 rout by Liverpool at Anfield as “embarrassing and humiliating”, with Jürgen Klopp’s team pulling two points ahead in the Premier League title race before Manchester City host Brighton on Wednesday.

Rangnick made the surprise selection of Phil Jones in an unfamiliar three-man defence which was breached after only five minutes by Luis Díaz. Two goals from Mohamed Salah and a Sadio Mané strike completed a Liverpool league double over United with an aggregate score of 9-0.

Rangnick said: “It is embarrassing, it is disappointing, maybe even humiliating. We have to accept they are six years ahead of us now. When Jürgen Klopp came [in October 2015] they changed at the club and lifted not just the team but the club and city to a new level. That is what needs to happen with us in the next transfer windows.

“We have to be critical of ourselves. The way we played in the first 45 minutes was in no area what we wanted to see or play. Since we had all our defensive midfielders not available we decided to go with the back five. I made the decision immediately after the Norwich game [a 3-2 win]. Norwich had five or six massive opportunities to score and had it not been for David De Gea we could have conceded three or four.

“I don’t think the first half had anything to do with our formation. The way we conceded the first goal was definitely not part of our gameplan. It affected our confidence. The first half was not good enough. We changed from a back five to a back four [at the break] and the first 25 minutes of the second half was better.”

The loss leaves United in sixth place, three points behind Tottenham in fourth, having played a game less, denting their Champions