‘I said’ - Erik ten Hag shares what he told Man Utd dressing room after Liverpool loss

Erik ten Hag rued how his Manchester United players ‘lost their heads’ in their chastening loss to Liverpool.

The Reds Devils are left licking their wounds following a 7-0 thrashing at Anfield.

United, who went into the game on the back of four straight wins, fell behind in the 43rd minute when Cody Gakpo netted for the home side.

But ten Hag’s men capitulated in the second period. Gakpo, Darwin Nunez and Mo Salah all fired doubles for Liverpool before Roberto Firmino came off the bench to compound more misery on their bitter rivals.

Ten Hag hit out at his side’s performance after the interval. The United chief said: "You can lose a game but not in the way we lose in the second half. In the first half, we played very decent. We created the better chances and then made an organisational mistake. The second half was unprofessional. It can’t happen and we have to talk about it. I do think we played decent in the first half but the second half was not us. Not our standards. We didn't play as a team.

"It was not about one or two players. It was the whole team, you saw 11 individuals losing their heads. That is unprofessional, that is not Manchester United. We have other standards, these were not the standards we want to show. Every defeat, no matter what, is worse, especially when you lose at Liverpool. We let the fans down so that is the most annoying. For the ones who stayed, it was tough, and we really have to thank them. I can't blame those who go away because it was a really bad performance. Devastating and we let the fans down."

Ten Hag added: “I said in the dressing room it’s not acceptable, their performance, it’s clear. But it’s only one game, though a big defeat, unacceptable, and especially for our fans, especially against Liverpool.

“We will bounce back. This team is strong enough to go, reset itself, and we will bounce back. I know my players, they are good characters, and they can bounce back and they will do.”