Jordan Henderson labels Old Trafford triumph as 'big step forward'

Liverpool were at their ruthless best, easing past a clueless Manchester United 5-0 in the Premier League on Sunday.

Former Liverpool midfielder Jordan Henderson; Credit: Twitter/@LFC
By Karthik Raman | Oct 26, 2021 | 3 Min Read follow icon Follow Us

Jordan Henderson called the comprehensive manner in which Liverpool beat Manchester United on Sunday as a “pleasing day.” The English midfielder went as far as calling the win a “big step forward” for his team. As a result of the thumping victory, the Reds extended their unbeaten run in the top flight to 19 games, stretching back to last season. At the weekend, Jurgen Klopp’s side surged into a two-goal advantage by the 13th minute, with Naby Keita and Diogo Jota providing the early strikes at Old Trafford. From there, it was all Mohamed Salah. The Egyptian became the first away player to hit a hat-trick against United in the Premier League, as the forward netted for the 10th club appearance in a row.

To make things worse, the hosts ended the forgettable day with 10 men after substitute Paul Pogba received a straight red card at the start of the second half. The visitors, who had gone five goals clear with 40 minutes left to play, saw out the rest of the match with little trouble to climb back up to second in the table. After providing a beautiful assist for the Reds’ fifth goal, Henderson was largely satisfied with Liverpool’s work on that day. “It was a good day. Old Trafford is a tough place to come, I’ve been here many times. So, overall I thought it was a fantastic day,” the captain told Liverpoolfc.com.

‘A clean sheet is really important for us’

“A great performance from start to finish. A clean sheet, which is really important for us. And obviously some amazing goals as well. So, a really pleasing day and a big step forward. [The game plan was] just to play our football and play with intensity and try to get the ball forward early when we win it back, which I thought we did very well, and then we were clinical in front of goal, which makes the difference.

“From start to finish it was a very, very good performance. I thought we managed the game well in the second half. Of course it’s hard for them when they go down to 10 men and it’s a little bit easier to keep the ball. But even before that I thought we were very good at keeping the ball and managing the game.”

Salah had an evening to remember at Old Trafford, returning from Manchester with the match ball having beaten David de Gea three times on either side of the half-time break in quick succession. The Egyptian, who also set up Keita for the opener on Sunday, has now scored 15 goals in his dozen appearances in all competitions this term. 

“Incredible,” he said. “Nothing really I can add but he is a special player. Hopefully he can stay in this run of games for a long, long time and keep scoring goals, keep working hard for the team and keep playing the way he is because he is a big bonus for us at the minute.”

Henderson on Konate 

Klopp made two changes to the starting XI from the midweek victory in Madrid. Ibrahima Konate was brought into central defence alongside Virgil van Dijk. The Frenchman produced an assured third appearance since his arrival from RB Leipzig in the summer. “I thought he was outstanding. We’ve got a few very, very good centre-backs so it’s difficult, but I thought he was top class today,” said Henderson.

“You’ve got to be to get a clean sheet at Old Trafford so I’m delighted for him and delighted for the team in terms of a clean sheet, I thought, was big today for us and we need to keep that going. To concede two in midweek we were disappointed with after going 2-0 up, so we knew today we wanted to try to keep a clean sheet, which I thought was very good for us. And obviously scored some amazing goals, which is what everybody wants to see as well.”





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