What The Anfield 7-0 Means For Liverpool And Manchester United

It could be said that all soccer clubs are always going through some kind of transitional phase, never standing still, but for Liverpool and Manchester United this season there is a clear sense of corners being turned, or waiting to be turned.

Liverpool’s 7-0 rout of their rivals at Anfield on Sunday was part of the process for both clubs, although United would have preferred this particular part of the journey to be a little less brutal.

United has already begun to turn a corner under manager Erik ten Hag. Prior to this game there was even talk of a quadruple after the side hoisted the EFL Cup a week ago, defeating Newcastle in the final at Wembley, while also remaining competitive in the FA Cup, Europa League, and Premier League.

Going into Sunday’s game United had lost just once in 20 matches in all competitions—a 3-2 defeat at league leaders Arsenal—and the defensive spine of Raphaël Varane, Lisandro Martínez and Casemiro was beginning to look like one of the toughest around.

United was a team on the up, well and truly turning the corner if not all the way around it. The Liverpool game was a stark reminder that this progress is only partial.

For Jürgen Klopp and his victorious Liverpool side, the result and those preceding it (in the league at least) may indicate the beginning of a recovery. A new-look team starting to gel and an idea of what it might look like once it does.

Goals among the seven from two new signings, Cody Gakpo and Darwin Núñez, plus a standout midfield performance from 19-year-old Harvey Elliott were among those promising new signs.

Klopp will regularly approach the Kop end of the Anfield stadium following key victories or feel-good moments and treat them to some rousing fist pumps. Such a flurry may have been expected following a 7-0 drubbing of their biggest rivals but the manager, despite wearing a grin that stretched from ear to ear, refrained.

Instead, Klopp made a circular, rolling gesture with one arm, suggesting such momentum and such performances need to continue until something is achieved before they can revel in them.

Liverpool remains three points off fourth-place Tottenham Hotspur with a game in hand, and one point ahead of sixth-placed Newcastle which has two games in hand on Tottenham and one on Liverpool.

In terms of points and games in hand, Newcastle is in the best position, but in terms of performances and form, Liverpool appears well-placed.

The 7-0 victory also did wonders for Liverpool’s goal difference, which is now better than Newcastle’s—something that seemed very unlikely five games ago. In those five games, Liverpool has not conceded a goal and scored 13 of them, leading to a massive boost in the goal difference column.

Klopp knows the job is only half done, though, and Liverpool’s quest for the top four, and the all-important Champions League qualification that comes with it, is still not quite in their hands.

The German manager will be wary of the poor form that preceded this good run and their own recent 5-2 drubbing at the hands of Real Madrid in the Champions League. He will be keen that his side does not slip back into that rut. Hence no celebrations, no fist pumps—even after a 7-0 win that is historic as far as this rivalry is concerned.

Both teams can take something from this game, and although United would have preferred the lesson to be much less harsh, it is nevertheless there to be learned, especially when it comes to on-field leadership in moments of adversity—a leadership that was non-existent on Sunday.

At the same time, Liverpool should not be complacent. While fans rightly revel in this moment of joy the team has provided for them in a relatively bleak season, the team now needs to complete the main job which is to finish in the top four and qualify for the Champions League.

It is an aim that seemed distant, almost unrealistic at one point this season, but now it is almost within their grasp they need to make sure it remains so, and keep rolling.