Man United fans are facing a day of ridicule after watching their side get thrashed 5-0 by bitter rivals Liverpool.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer‘s toothless United side were soundly beaten by Jurgen Klopp‘s Liverpool at Old Trafford on Sunday night, with in-form forward Mohamed Salah scoring a hat-trick.
After Liverpool scored their fourth goal right on the stroke of half-time, United fans streamed from the ground.
However, many dedicated fans stayed and some even engaged in a spot of self-deprecating humour, singing: ‘You’re nothing special, we lose every week.’
But while some United fans sported a stiff upper lip in the face of humiliation last night, they now face a day of mocking on social media.
Supporters of rival clubs gleefully added to the pain of United fans, rushing to social media to mock last night’s performance.
One post on Twitter joked about things that had been ‘useless since Fergie left’, sharing a Venn Diagram mentioning United, Prince Andrew and the Black Eyed Peas.
United’s most successful manager Sir Alex Ferguson, sometimes referred to as ‘Fergie’ left the club in 2013, while Fergie is also the stage name of the former lead singer in US band the Black Eyed Peas.
Meanwhile, the Duchess of York, Sarah Ferguson, often colloquially known as ‘Fergie’, divorced Prince Andrew in 1996. He has since stepped back from front line royal duties amid allegations of sexual assault in the US.
Others joked about United fans being forced to stay at the ground by stewards, after streams of supporters were seen walking out of Old Trafford after just 45 minutes.
One Twitter user shared a stock picture of a football fan being removed by stewards, before adding a United badge and the caption: ‘Shocking scenes as stewards stop United fans from leaving and forcing them to watch the match.’
Others joked about United fans being consoled by Norwich fans, after their side were smashed 7-0 by league leaders Chelsea on Saturday.
It comes as it was revealed today that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is now the overwhelming bookmakers’ favourite to be the next Premier League manager to be sacked after United’s embarrassing 5-0 defeat on Sunday.
The scrutiny on the Red Devils boss has intensified in recent weeks and the heat has been turned up even more following the club’s total humiliation at the hands of their rivals.
Solskjaer has moved into the 1/6 favourite with Betfair to be given his marching orders next.
United were held to a 1-1 draw by Everton at the start of the month and then were beaten 4-2 by Leicester last weekend.
Solskjaer’s side then found themselves trailing 2-0 at half-time to Atalanta in the their Champions League group clash in midweek, although they turned things around and came back to win 3-2 in the second half.
But United were annihilated by Jurgen Klopp’s side at home on Sunday to mount the pressure on Solskjaer.
Former United defender Gary Neville insisted his old club should not sack Solskjaer and his coaching staff following the 5-0 drubbing.
Speaking on Sky Sports after United had been dismantled by their arch-rivals, Graeme Souness and Jamie Carragher stopped short of calling for the Norwegian to lose his job but insisted he should surround himself with better coaches.
Neville urged the Red Devils to resist calls for wholesale changes and insisted United’s main problems were on the pitch rather than off it.
‘On the pitch, it’s not good enough. I was a manager for four months and I had a terrible time and this will put a massive pressure on him,’ he said.
Gary Neville insisted his old club should not sack Solskjaer despite 5-0 loss to rivals Liverpool
Mohamed Salah hit a hat-trick as Liverpool ran riot over Manchester United at Old Trafford
‘The last thing I would do is turn on his staff. Are we sacking his staff? If the muck hits the fan, everyone gets a bit.’
Norwich boss Daniel Farke is the second favourite Premier League manager to go at 7/1, with his side still without a league win in nine following their 7-0 thrashing by Chelsea on Saturday.
Meanwhile, United legend Rio Ferdinand slammed his former side’s ’embarrassing’ first-half performance against Liverpool.
United were totally abject in the first 45 minutes, conceding four goals in the first half at home for the first time in 70 years and for the first time in Premier League history as Liverpool ran riot.
The defeat was United’s heaviest against Liverpool at home in the history of English football’s biggest rivalry. It also marked the first time United have conceded at least five goals without scoring at Old Trafford since they lost by the same scoreline to Manchester City in February 1955.
Rio Ferdinand described United’s performance at Old Trafford as a case of ‘men against boys’
Manchester United fans streamed out of Old Trafford at halftime with their team 4-0 down
Fans continued to walk out in their droves in the second half after Mo Salah added a fifth goal
Naby Keita put the visitors 1-0 up after five minutes, before Diogo Jota added a second eight minutes later and Mohamed Salah scored twice in seven minutes before the break.
Such was Liverpool’s dominance that Ferdinand described the contest as men playing against boys.
‘We are always gonna pose a threat because of the individuals we have…..but we are so easy to play through it’s unreal,’ he tweeted through the first half.
Plenty of fans on social media echoed his feelings and called for Solskjaer to be sacked and describing the performance on Sunday as a ‘disgrace’
United fans on social media made their feelings about their team’s dismal performance clear
Some United fans called for Antonio Conte, Erik ten Hag or Zinedine Zidane to be appointed
Others went as far as ask being for Solskjaer’s entire coaching staff to be sacked
Some pointed out United conceded more goals in the first 45 minutes against Liverpool than Chelsea have done in nine Premier League games so far and called for Antonio Conte, Erik ten Hag or Zinedine Zidane to be appointed in place of Solskjaer.
United’s lack of structure has long been one of the main criticism aimed at Solskjaer and his coaching staff, largely because of the defensive frailties that were again laid bare on Sunday.
United have kept one clean sheet in the last 21 matches and their defensive frailties came under scrutiny on social media. Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw, in particular, were singled out for their performances.
England Women’s international Lianne Sanderson said United were so ‘woeful’ Liverpool didn’t even to play particularly well to inflict a humiliating defeat on their rivals.
England Women’s international Lianne Sanderson criticised United for being ‘woeful’
Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw came under criticism for their performance against Liverpool
The mood was just as negative at Old Trafford, where several supporters voted with their feet, streaming out at halftime.
The queues for the exit continued during the second half after Liverpool added a fifth goal early on, as Salah completed his hat-trick.
To their credit, the majority of United fans remained in their seats and must have counted themselves lucky Liverpool didn’t step on the gas in the second half.