Liverpool legend makes Firmino and Mane claim after ‘devastating’ Manchester United win

The former Champions League winner heaped praise on his old club after their demolition of their old rivals.
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Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher believes the Reds’ remarkable seven-goal demolition of Manchester United has brought new attacking hope to Anfield.

Mohamed Salah of Liverpool celebrates after scoring the team's fourth goal during the Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Manchester United at Anfield on March 05, 2023 Mohamed Salah of Liverpool celebrates after scoring the team's fourth goal during the Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Manchester United at Anfield on March 05, 2023
Mohamed Salah of Liverpool celebrates after scoring the team's fourth goal during the Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Manchester United at Anfield on March 05, 2023

With Sadio Mane now plying his trade with Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich and Roberto Firmino playing a backup role and confirming his departure from the Liverpool at the end of the season, only Mo Salah remains out of the exciting attacking trident the led the Reds to success at home and abroad in recent years.

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But the Egyptian forward is now showing signs of his old form once again and he played an integral role in a stunning win over Erik ten Hag’s side on Sunday afternoon. Salah and attacking partners Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo all scored twice and Firmino came off the bench to put the seal on a dominant win over the Red Devils in front of a jubilant Anfield crowd.

Carragher reflected on the events of an action-packed 90 minutes on Sky Sports and Monday night and he admitted memories of a dazzling forward trio had been evoked by Jurgen Klopp’s attacking players at the weekend.

He said: “I think on the back of the announcement of Roberto Firmino not being at the club next season, Sadio Mane moving on and Liverpool just not being at the races for the majority of the season, it just felt nice to see Gakpo, Nunez, Salah and they still have Diaz to come back, Jota off the bench, it could be the makings of a new front three.

“Will they ever get to those levels? We don’t know - but let’s not forget Manchester United were top quality opposition going into this game as one of the most in-form teams in Europe. So for attacking players to be that devastating on the day and to score those amount of goals, I think it bodes well for the future in terms of taking teams apart and scoring goals.”

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Carragher also identified the performances of Gakpo and young midfielder Harvey Elliott as ‘key’ to the Reds, despite admitting he was unsure either player should have started the game.

“What I would say about Gakpo and Harvey Elliott, they were the two positions that I think were put up for grabs. I’ll be honest, I wanted Jota to play instead of Gakpo because I thought he’d be better pressing from the front and Liverpool could win the ball back from there.

“And I thought Bajcetic has been performing better than Harvey Elliott over the last few two or three months so I was a bit surprised. But I thought Jurgen Klopp got it right and tactically was fantastic. The role of Gakpo and Harvey Elliott was key.”