Jurgen Klopps men were relentless in their Premier League clash at Anfield, producing a legendary display for the ages.
There was a brace each for Mohamed Salah, Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo, as well as a pleasing Roberto Firmino strike, as United were taken to pieces on Merseyside for their heaviest post-war defeat.
Heres how the media assessed Liverpools unforgettable victory, on a huge day in the top-four battle.
The Mails Oliver Holt thought this was quite a response to suggestions that United have usurped Liverpool in the footballing pecking order:
There was a fear that, after a decade in the doldrums, the wind was filling Uniteds sails again. There was a fear that after so many vanity signings and bad coaching hires, United were finally getting it right. There was a fear United were about to overtake them again.
Fear drove Liverpool as they went into this match. Fear, and the pent-up frustration of a season full of disappointments and defeats and doubts.
And certainties replaced by uncertainties. Fear that the Jurgen Klopp era was over. Fear that all the glories of the last few years had come to an end and that others, including United, were lining up to grind them into the dirt.
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In 90 minutes of football, all that fear, all that rage, all that history between these two clubs, all their years of supplanting each other and mocking each other and loathing each other, came together and burst forth to produce the most astonishing and unexpected result in the history of the titanic clashes between the two most successful clubs in the English game.
David Hytner of the Guardian said Liverpool gave their rivals nightmares on an incredible afternoon:
Manchester Uniteds humiliations at the hands of their biggest rivals were supposed to have been confined to last season.
But on an afternoon when Liverpool found something that has felt lost at times, sparking what they believe can be a successful push for a top-four finish, Erik ten Hag and his players were reacquainted with their worst nightmares.
This was even worse than the horrors of the previous campaign, mainly because they had made the short journey to Liverpool on a high, having lost only once in 22 matches.
The 5-0 and 4-0 drubbings of last season had come when the team were on their knees, almost expecting something terrible.
The Liverpool fans demanded six, which they would get. Then seven, ditto. The craziest of occasions would finish with them asking, implausibly, for eight.
That did not happen but by then United were broken, their second-half dereliction complete. This was their biggest ever competitive defeat to their historic rivals.
The Telegraphs Jason Burt echoed that sentiment, also choosing to focus on Uniteds humiliation:
There are some defeats that are so traumatic they eat into the fabric of a team; of a club; of an institution. Not just the margin or the manner but the opponent who inflicts it.
The reality for Manchester United is that this humiliation was their worst nightmare being sent upon them. It could, if they are not careful, derail their season. It was that brutal. It was that embarrassing.
They lost 9-0 on aggregate to Liverpool last season and that scoreline was almost and could have been repeated in one horror show of a 90 minutes.
This will live long in the memory; this famous win will be rightly used by Liverpool to goad United for decades to come. T-shirts will be printed about this.
Phil McNulty of BBC Sport dissected a remarkable Reds victory:
The second half was a tale of sheer joy for Liverpool and unrelenting misery for United, starting after 47 minutes when Darwin Nunezs header diverted Harvey Elliotts driven cross past goalkeeper David de Gea.
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This is the biggest win in the history of the fixture, passing Liverpools 7-1 victory in the 1895-96 Second Division.
Liverpool are now an ominous presence in the chase for the Champions League places, standing only three points behind Tottenham with a game in hand.
McNulty added that it was as brutal as it gets for United, while showing what Klopp is building for the future for Liverpool.
The Mirrors Tom Victor hailed the performance of Andy Robertson:
Andy Robertson hasnt consistently been at his best this season, but a night off against Wolves appeared to reinvigorate the Scotland international. He returned to the starting XI after making way for Kostas Tsimikas in midweek, and regularly got forward to suppot Liverpools attack in the first half.
While a weak and easily blocked shot wasnt an example of him playing to his strengths, a burst down the left was, and Uniteds defenders needed to be alert to stop Darwin Nunez turning it into the back of the net.
He was the stand-out player for the hosts in the first period, and an assist for Gakpo with a note-perfect through-ball was no less than he deserved.
Liverpool still have work to do to claw their way back into the top four, but performances like this from their left-back could be key.
On Twitter, Dominic King was equally gushing with praise for the left-back:
There are reasons to say that was Andy Robertsons best performance for Liverpool. Its absolutely his best of the season but its a challenge to think of one better. Perhaps City (Jan 2018) and United (Dec 2018) but that 90 minutes was quite exceptional ?
Dominic King (@DominicKing_DM) March 5, 2023
