Sir Alex Ferguson was seen shaking his head as his former club Manchester United fell to a 7-0 defeat at Anfield on Sunday.
Cody Gakpo, Darwin Nunez and Mohamed Salah each scored twice as Liverpool recorded their biggest ever win over their rivals, breaking a record which had stood for more than 125 years. Roberto Firmino rounded off the scoring late on during what will be his final season with Jurgen Klopp's team.
The result brought Erik ten Hag's squad down to earth, just seven days after a breakthrough Carabao Cup win under the Dutchman. It was also a heavier defeat than Ferguson ever suffered with the club, with the legendary manager's low point coming in the form of a 6-1 loss at home to Manchester City in 2011.
Ten Hag had spoken about Ferguson's presence at Wembley for the cup final just days before the Anfield hammering. "I think he was happy with the performance, he was happy Manchester United is winning and he's hoping more wins and more trophies are coming in," he told Sky Sports.
"I enjoy it [Ferguson's presence]," the former Ajax boss said. "It's inspiring to have a big inspirator like him - a man, a personality, who won everything. So he knows what winning is, he knows the culture of winning. To talk with him about that, to learn, but also for the players, I think it's inspiring to have him around."
There have already been plenty of positives for United under Ten Hag, with the club pushing for a top four finish after coming sixth last season. However, with the Anfield hammering following heavy defeats at Brentford and Manchester City, the last man to lead the club to a Premier League title couldn't hide his feelings.
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Few could have anticipated the manner of United's defeat when they went in 1-0 behind at the break, with Cody Gakpo cutting in from the left to fire home a 43rd-minute opener. However, two more goals in five minutes after the restart put Liverpool in control before they hit four more against a tired United defence in the final half-hour.
Despite losing heavily to Liverpool, United remain seven points clear of their rivals with 13 games remaining. Ten Hag's men are also still in the FA Cup and Europa League, with their manager demanding an instant response when they face Real Betis in the latter competition on Thursday.
"We have made a lot of progress but you see what happens when you don't keep standards," Ten Hag told Sky Sports. "What I have said in the dressing room is that this is unacceptable. But also it is only one game. We will bounce back. This team is strong enough and we will reset and bounce back."
