The Reds endured a horrible start and a more painful ending to go crashing out of the FA Cup at Old Trafford
Liverpool's hopes of winning the quadruple this season came to a wild end as they crashed out of the FA Cup in a thrilling 4-3 loss at Manchester United that finished as crazily as it began.
Liverpool endured a horrendous start to the quarter-final tie as they were second-best from kick-off and gifted Scott McTominay an opening goal just 10 minutes in with some careless defending from Joe Gomez and Jarell Quansah.
Thanks to Caomhin Kelleher's safe hands – he pulled off six saves in the first half – they prevented Erik ten Hag's men from improving on their lead, while the visitors gradually settled into the game. Soon, the Reds were back on an even keel with their hosts and pulled level after Quansah went on a fantastic run before finding Darwin Nunez, who teed up Alexis Mac Allister for the equaliser in the 44th minute. Just a couple of minutes later, Nunez again played a key role as his shot was saved by Onana, but it fell to Mohamed Salah to lash into the net for his 13th goal in his last 10 games against United.
Jurgen Klopp's team were more imposing than United throughout the second period as they nullified their hosts and kept pushing for the third goal, but clear cut opportunities were hard to come by despite Luis Diaz and Nunez finding more space. They were made to pay for that lack of killer touch when substitute Antony turned Wataru Endo and grabbed the equaliser to send the game into extra-time.
It was United who came out stronger in extra-time but failed to test Kelleher, and just like Liverpool were punished in the second half, the Red Devils paid for their inability to find the target when Harvey Elliott's deflected shot hit the net.
It wasn't over, though, as Nunez's wastefulness cost Liverpool later on, though, as he scuppered one chance and then gave away the ball as United pounced on it and fired in another equaliser through Marcus Rashford. Just as it looked destined for penalties, United hit the away team on the counter-attack in the dying seconds and Amad Diallo lashed in the winner.
GOAL rates Liverpool's players from Old Trafford…
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Caoimhin Kelleher (8/10):
Pulled off some quality saves. Has really grown into a safe pair of hands in Alisson's absence.
Joe Gomez (6/10):
Terrible start with bad positioning to give away space for the first goal but then helped them keep the pressure on United once they settled in.
Jarell Quansah (7/10):
Far too casual closing down and left space for the opening goal, but recovered well to create the first goal and become the stable presence Liverpool are used to seeing.
Virgil van Dijk (7/10):
Another quality display. He cut out a lot of United attacks with his clearances and interceptions.
Andrew Robertson (6/10):
Got down the wing and looked to whip into dangerous areas, but Dalot did a good job cutting him off.
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Alexis Mac Allister (8/10):
Blasted beyond Onana to level the score and his passing was excellent.
Wataru Endo (6/10):
Strong on the ball once again and covered a lot of ground, but should have done better against Antony.
Dominik Szoboszlai (6/10):
A lot of shots from outside the box. He saw plenty of the ball but lacked the incisive touch to his passes.
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Mohamed Salah (7/10):
Had a horrible time down the wing as Wan-Bissaka kept him silent, but was perfectly placed to capitalise on a rebound to put Liverpool ahead. Had much more joy in the second half.
Darwin Nunez (7/10):
Silent for most of the first half but managed to get free enough to play a key role in the first two goals. Had more success in the second half but was terribly wasteful yet again, and a horrible pass gifted United their third goal.
Luis Diaz (7/10):
Proved tricky for United thanks to his wiry runs and pulled off some smart passes, but a lot of moves came to nothing.
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Harvey Elliot (7/10):
Created some danger after replacing Szoboszlai, culminating in the extra-time goal, but gave away the ball for the winner.
Conor Bradley (7/10):
Came on just as Liverpool started to find themselves under pressure and coped well, before finding Elliott for his goal.
Cody Gakpo (5/10):
Didn't get up to much after coming on for Salah.
Kostas Tsimikas (6/10):
Tried to create some trouble on the left for the last 19 minutes of extra-time.
Bobby Clark (N/A):
Didn't have time to impact the game in the last seven minutes of extra-time.
Jurgen Klopp (6/10):
His team started and ended the 90 minutes woefully and should have capitalised on their dominance in the second half.