Manchester United players spoke of finishing above the top two in the Premier League ahead of Liverpool's reality check
United headed to Liverpool on Sunday with such optimism that there was talk internally of the prospect of beating the Premier League's top two Arsenal and Manchester City to the Premier League title.
The Red Devils suffered their worst-ever defeat at Anfield on Sunday afternoon as they fell 7-0 to their bitter rivals. Jurgen Klopp's side went on a rampage in the second half, scoring six goals and seemingly scoring at will. It was a far cry from the expected result, with United playing so well in recent weeks.
A week earlier, Erik ten Hag had seen his side win the Carabao Cup - their first trophy in six years. Even after the Cup triumph, they put in impressive an performance against Barcelona, and the team internally considered themselves to be readied for a quadruple chase.
According to the Daily Mail, the players have been talking in their team's WhatsApp chatroom about catching up to Manchester City and Arsenal, who have set the pace for most of the season. Optimism was growing but defeat on Merseyside would have them recommit their hopes of challenging for the title again.