Liverpool winners, losers and ratings as Van Dijk and Alexander-Arnold flop in Man Utd defeat

Liverpool’s stuttering start to the season continued as they were beaten 2-1 by fierce rivals Manchester United at a bouncing Old Trafford.

Having drawn their first two Premier League matches of the campaign, the Reds’ struggles continued as goals from Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford condemned them to their first defeat to United in four-and-a-half-years.

Mohamed Salah's late header set up a nervy finish, but Liverpool's response came way too late, and their sub-par performance barely merited anything from the game in any case.

Jurgen Klopp has insisted all month that his injury-hit squad are not in need of a new signing, but their limitations were brutally exposed again here, against a side that began the game near the bottom of the table and engulfed in a seemingly perpetual state of crisis.

This is the first time Liverpool have failed to win any of their three games of a league season in a decade, and they ended the night 16th in the table, with hopes of a title challenge already beginning to fade. 

The silence from the away end, in stark contrast to last season’s delight, spoke volumes.