Liverpool hammered Manchester United 7-0 at Anfield on Sunday – but Raphael Varane still showed plenty of respect to his club’s disappointed travelling supporters.
Raphael Varane ordered his team-mates to applaud the Manchester United fans after their horror show against Liverpool on Sunday.
United were thrashed 7-0 by Jurgen Klopp’s side at Anfield. Braces from Mohamed Salah, Cody Gakpo and Darwin Nunez – plus Roberto Firmino’s late strike – completed a sensational victory for the hosts. It is Liverpool’s biggest ever win against their bitter rivals.
United boss Erik ten Hag classed his team’s performance as “unprofessional” after they conceded six goals during the second half. Varane’s team-mates were desperate to get off the pitch at full-time, but the Frenchman ordered them to applaud the visiting fans.
After shaking hands with the opposition and officials, United players started sneaking down the Anfield tunnel without clapping their supporters. By this point, most United fans had already left Merseyside to make the short trip back to Manchester.
Yet there were still a few hundred visiting supporters. A couple of United players managed to get off the pitch without applauding their disappointed fans, while a few more attempted to make their way to the dressing room. That is when Varane noticed.
The World Cup winner screamed at his colleagues and pointed in the direction of the United fans. They then made their way across to the away section, while the two players who managed to sneak down the tunnel walked back onto the pitch to join in.
Varane’s bark was so loud it was heard from the press box, as video footage on social media proves. That speaks volumes, as Anfield was still full of joyous Liverpool supporters. United assistant Steve McClaren also ordered the players over to the away end. Some fans who were still in the ground appreciated the gesture and clapped back.
Varane was spared the task of speaking to the press at full-time, but the same can’t be said for Ten Hag. The United boss – who won the Carabao Cup just seven days ago – told BBC Radio 5 Live, “It was a really bad performance and the worst of the year.
“We lost the game at the end of the first-half and at the start of the second but you have to keep your head up and we didn’t. It’s all about showing discipline and we didn’t, so that’s when you start conceding goals. It’s a really unprofessional performance and unnecessary. You have to do your jobs and we didn’t.”
Ten Hag also sent a message to the United fans. He added, “That was tough and we really have to thank them. I can’t blame them for leaving because it was a really bad performance, I’m ashamed myself for the fans today.”
United’s stand-in skipper Bruno Fernandes responded to the defeat by urging his team-mates to “get back up”. He told Sky Sports, “It is very frustrating, disappointing, sad because it is a really bad result. We came here with a different mindset before the game.”
Fernandes added: “The games are coming thick and fast. We had setbacks in the past and we have to come back quickly again. This is what Manchester United are about, we can go down but we have to get back up.”
Source: www.mirror.co.uk
