National media react to 'hapless and hopless' Liverpool after Manchester United defeat

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A look at how the national media viewed things as Liverpool lose 3-2 to Manchester United at Old TraffordLiverpool slipped to an 11th Premier League defeat of the season with a 3-2 loss at Manchester United on Sunday afternoon.After United have taken a two-goal lead into the half-time interval, through Matheus Cunha and Benjamin Sesko, the visitors responded through Dominik Szoboszlai and Cody Gakpo.However, it was Kobbie Mainoo who steered home the winning goal to take the Red Devils six points clear of a Liverpool side who remain one place below them in fourth.The ECHO, as always, was at the game to run the rule over proceedings. Liverpool that they would then go on and make the most of the momentum that had belatedly been mustered."The lack of options available to Slot clearly played a part but, instead, the tricks and flicks started again — a surefire sign of a team who think they are better than they actually are."Seven times in the league (eight overall), Liverpool have fallen behind, restored parity and then lost.

Look at all those injuries, for starters, the latest of which was the groin strain to Alexander Isak that left Arne Slot without nine experienced players for the trip to Old Trafford."That conclusion, though, ignores the fact that Liverpool’s starting line-up for this contest cost £430.2m to assemble – Manchester United’s, in comparison, was £481.2m – and the 10 outfield players had all won a league title during their careers. Full of possession and territory but sluggish on the ball and all at sea once United’s red waves of counter-attack broke on their shores."The Guardian's Andy Hunter wrote: "Liverpool’s recovery from two goals down may have restored some credibility to their performance, and showed there is some fight in them after all, but the unvarnished truth for Slot is that the comeback owed everything to United errors and not his team’s quality."Once Cody Gakpo equalised after Senne Lammens’s mistake, it seemed a question of when not if United would regain the advantage, long before Mainoo supplied the answer."The mitigating circumstances behind Liverpool’s 18th defeat of the season in all competitions were extensive and genuine.

A necessary strategy, no doubt, but one that is also fraught with risk given Isak’s injury record."The final touch of United’s two first-half goals, scored via the backside of Mac Allister and the stomach or hand of Sesko – Slot was adamant it was the hand – heightened the sense of misfortune among the visitors."It is possible to be unlucky and an average team, however, as Liverpool’s first-half display demonstrated."And the ECHO's verdict reads: "A 'new cycle', as Arne Slot put it over the weekend, is fast approaching at Liverpool. That, at a club like Liverpool, is a grave offence."United's early exits in the domestic cups mean this season is their fewest amount of games - just 40 in total - since 1915, which undoubtedly left them the fresher of the two squads for this, particularly given the injury issues at Anfield."For context, United have now played 37 matches in total this term.