Gary Neville: 'Liverpool obliteration as bad as it's been for Manchester United'

Former Manchester United defender Gary Neville has admitted that the team's 5-0 defeat at the hands of Liverpool this afternoon is as bad as it has been in the fixture during his lifetime.

The Red Devils were blown away by their bitter rivals at Old Trafford, conceding four first-half goals to leave them facing their biggest half-time deficit in the Premier League era.

Mohamed Salah then added a fifth early in the second half to complete his hat-trick as Liverpool recorded their biggest ever away win over Man United.

A disallowed goal for Cristiano Ronaldo and a red card for Paul Pogba added to the hosts' misery, and Neville pulled no punches in his assessment of the performance.

"I didn't think it would ever get as bad as that today. As bad as it's been in this fixture or the distance there's been between the two clubs over maybe 40-50 years, it's always been a tight game more often than not," Neville told Sky Sports News.

"Today, absolute shocker - the timing couldn't have been worse because it's been building now for a few weeks against what I've called half-decent teams. As soon as they've played a decent team they've been obliterated, pulled to pieces, dismantled and I didn't think they would play like that, I thought they would flick a switch. But you can't flick a switch in football.

"That Manchester United group of players get outrun - they're one of the lowest running teams in the league - we know that from the stats we see week in week out - and there's nothing worse than being told you're one of the worst running teams in the league and that you're easy to play against. And they're both. And that's a poor reflection upon the manager, the staff and the players."

The result is also the first time Man United have lost to nil by five or more goals at home since 1955.