Manchester United head coach Erik ten Hag has insisted that tiredness had "nothing to do" with his side's 7-0 defeat to Liverpool in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon.
The Red Devils entered the clash with their bitter rivals off the back of four straight wins in all competitions, while they had been unbeaten since losing at Arsenal in the Premier League on January 22.
However, the 20-time English champions conceded seven unanswered goals in the humiliating defeat, with Jurgen Klopp's team scoring six times in the second period.
Man United have played a lot of football in recent weeks due to their involvement in the EFL Cup, Europa League and FA Cup, and they were in action last Wednesday against West Ham United, beating the Hammers 3-1 to advance to the quarter-finals of the FA Cup.
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Ten Hag, though, refused to use fatigue as a reason for the shock result at Anfield.
"No, nothing to do with that because we can bring the performance four days ago, seven days ago. It's nothing to do with that," he told reporters after the match.
"It's just about the head. We know Liverpool are a good transition team. When you are 1-0 down, you can't lose your head and bring them into the transition moments.
"We did not make the right decisions in the defensive actions. That is unprofessional. We have high standards and that's not what we showed today in the second half."
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Ten Hag also said that his team let their supporters down at Anfield on Sunday afternoon.
"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," said the Dutchman.
"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."
Man United will be bidding to bounce back when they welcome Real Betis to Old Trafford on Thursday night for the first leg of their last-16 Europa League contest.
Matt Law
