PODCAST | Legendary Peter Drury on Liverpool’s seventh heaven against Man U

Manchester United's highly-paid senior players showed they are “are only human beings” and Liverpool had that much more to play for, legendary UK commentator Peter Drury said, trying to make sense of the Reds' 7-0 thrashing of the Red Devils last week.

Drury covered the Premier League game at Anfield where Liverpool upset the form books. Erik ten Hag's United had just won the League Cup trophy and gone 11 matches unbeaten, Juergen Klopp's Reds were in the midst of a woefully inconsistent campaign.

The commentator told Marawa Sports Worldwide the result made for “quite an extraordinary day”.

He was asked how a United in form could capitulate so hugely. 

“In a sense that's what makes it feel a little bit like a freak. That's not to diminish in any way what Liverpool achieved in that game. And I realise it's a pretty unscientific way of analysing it.

“But the truth is for 40 minutes it was a more or less even game. Then United conceded just before half time. You started the second half thinking, 'This could easily still go either way'.

“But, I guess if you're a United fan, the thing that would have alarmed you was United's response, or perhaps you might say failure to respond, to going a couple of goals down.

“When the ball started rolling badly for them and the second and third goals went in it felt as though they lost their shape and to some extent their discipline. And senior players who have been at the core of their renaissance over recent weeks suddenly lost all the qualities that made them what they were.

“And you can only rationalise it, I suppose, by saying these guys, multimillionaire sportsmen as they are, are only human beings. And they just had a very bad day, individually and collectively.

“And Liverpool were so pumped for the game, so much depended on it in terms of their self-worth, because they'd had such an ordinary season ... the game against United comes to mean so much. The Champions League is now alive for them again and they made the moment matter. And they did so magnificently.”

He said the result, which took the bottom out of an outside title bid for United, made a top four finish accessible for Liverpool.

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