EPL

Seventh heaven – Liverpool's record-breaking Manchester United demolition in numbers

By Sports Desk March 05, 2023

Liverpool shattered decades-old records in their 7-0 rout of Manchester United, delivering one of their all-time great Premier League victories.

Braces for Cody Gakpo, Darwin Nunez and Mohamed Salah – the latter of whom set a new record of his own – saw the hosts run riot at Anfield.

Roberto Firmino, in the first game since his end-of-season departure from Merseyside was confirmed, added a final touch of gloss to a magnificent performance too.

But the scoreline wasn't the only impressive number set during 90 minutes of blockbuster entertainment for the home fans on Sunday. Stats Perform takes a dive into the Opta data from the game.

Salah writes place in Premier League history

The Egypt international has been an incredible player for Liverpool – this was never in doubt. But Sunday's double elevated his legendary status.

Salah's two goals saw him move clear of Robbie Fowler to become Liverpool's outright top scorer in the Premier League, with 129.

In addition, he became the first Liverpool player to score in six consecutive appearances in all competitions against United, continuing his rich vein of form against the Reds' bitter rivals.

Red Devils suffer joint-worst defeat in history

For Erik ten Hag's men, they crashed back to earth a week on from their EFL Cup final triumph in brutal fashion, writing an unwanted chapter in the record books.

It was the joint-worst competitive defeat they have ever suffered, last losing by seven to Wolves on Boxing Day in 1931. They also lost 7-0 to Blackburn Rovers in April 1926.

What's more, United have now lost more Premier League matches against Liverpool (19) than any other side in the competition's history, and shipped 21 goals in their past five league meetings.

It was also their worst ever loss to the Merseyside club, eclipsing the 7-1 defeat suffered in October 1895.

Gakpo and Nunez start the party

While Salah ultimately reigned supreme with his history-making performance, it was his two forward partners who got the ball rolling either side of half-time for Liverpool.

Netherlands international Gakpo struck just before the interval before adding a second later on, meaning he has now netted in three of his last four Premier League starts.

Uruguay attacker Nunez made it 2-0 29 seconds after the restart and then headed in Liverpool's fifth to take his club tally to 14, including four in his past four appearances – that's as many as he managed in his previous 14 games combined.

Nunez's second ensured he and Gakpo became the first Liverpool pair to score twice in the same top-flight match against United since Arthur Goddard and James Stewart in February 1910. Then Salah joined the party.

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    Domenico Tedesco says Belgium are still hurting after their Euro 2024 exit to France as they prepare to meet them in the Nations League on Monday.

    Belgium suffered a 1-0 defeat to France in the round of 16 at the Euros, conceding an 85th-minute Jan Vertonghen own goal to send them crashing out after a poor tournament.

    It was a tight affair when the sides met in July, with both only managing two shots on target, though France's came from 19 overall attempts compared to Belgium's five.

    And Tedesco would rather forget about that meeting as he targets a more positive result this time around.

    "At the European Championship, it was a close one against France. We could have won too,” Tedesco told reporters.

    "France were a bit better, they deserved to win, but we also had our chances. It would be a lie if I said that match is forgotten. It still hurts. I often think about the European Championship, but you also must look ahead.

    "Looking back is not always the best solution. We have to be ambitious; it's been a long time since we beat France in a competitive match with commitment. Let us perform well, and then the rest will follow."

    Tedesco also admitted that Belgium over-prepared for that meeting with France, with their adjustments to the game plan proving detrimental.

    "The last match at the European Championship was different from the one now, it was a knockout match," he added.

    "We learned that we adjusted our own plans a bit too much then. You always have to analyse your opponent, but we adjusted excessively."

  • Clarke believes Scotland 'deserved something' following defeat to Portugal Clarke believes Scotland 'deserved something' following defeat to Portugal

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    Scott McTominay gave Scotland an early lead after seven minutes, but Portugal fought back through goals from Bruno Fernandes and Ronaldo to take all three points in Group A1.

    Ronaldo's goal came in the 88th minute and was his 901st career goal.

    It leaves Scotland on their longest-ever winless run as they remain without a win in their last eight competitive games in all competitions, but Clarke feels they should not have left Lisbon empty-handed.

    "I'm disappointed to lose a game where it looked, for a large period, we would get something from it," he told the BBC.

    "I'm really disappointed for my players because I think they deserved to get something from the game.

    "If you ignore the results, [there are a lot of positives], but we're professional, so it's disappointing.

    "We played well in these two games, but we don't have anything to show for it. I've told the players not to be too hard on themselves. They have to understand the work that we're doing."

    Scotland did well to prevent Portugal from getting any further sight at goal, defending a total of 26 shots during the match with seven ending up on target.

    The 16 shots the Scots had to defend in the opening 45 minutes were the most they have faced in a first-half since October 2012 when Belgium also let loose 16 efforts.

    "With the amount of balls that go into the box, you know one of them can go in the back of the net and that's what happened to us," added Clarke.

    "When you bring quality players from the bench like Roberto [Martinez] can do, you always know there's a risk, but I felt we handled it well.

    "We'll go away and analyse these games, and hopefully, we can give the lads a few pointers for the games next month, which don't get any easier."

    Gamechanger Ronaldo was brought on at half-time by Portugal manager Roberto Martinez, a move that was well thought through and had the desired effect.

    "Ronaldo did 17 sprints against Croatia. He is the player who made the most sprints. So we need to protect the players. One more game in 72 hours is impossible to have a physical performance [equal]," Martinez explained.

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    La Roja made an underwhelming start to Group A4 in a 0-0 draw with Serbia but looked back to their best on Sunday.

    Fabian Ruiz's brace was sandwiched between goals from Joselu and Ferran Torres, with Spain able to clinch their first win of this season's tournament, despite Robin Le Normand's 20th-minute sending-off.

    De la Fuente was particularly impressed with how his players dug in after going down to 10 men, hailing them for a resilient performance.

    "I feel like we are doing something important for a country, that people identify with this group of players," De la Fuente said after the game.

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    "If there's one thing I like to boast about, it's the pride I've always felt for this team. When these circumstances happen, one feels more proud, but to highlight a group of players that is a team, not a national team.

    "This team has plenty of self-esteem and humility because what they are doing is historic.

    "With 10 men, we have been able to interpret the game in a masterful way. I am very proud of this team and every day we see that we continue to grow and that we can improve."

    Spain finished the game with just 33.7% possession, understandably low after having just 10 players on the pitch for 70 minutes.

    They had nine shots overall, compared to Switzerland's 20, but got eight of theirs on target while the hosts only mustered three.

    De la Fuente was particularly impressed by Joselu's performance, with the former Real Madrid man setting the tone from the front.

    "I'm very happy for everyone, especially for Joselu because he deserves it," De la Fuente added.

    "He had the best game since he's been with us, he did everything we asked of him, both when we had 11 and when we were down to 10.

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    "We felt very powerful. With 10 players, we played the perfect game, we defended very well, we had a great goalkeeper..."

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