Talking points: Salah still king of the Kop as United's identity crisis is laid bare

On a night when almost everything Liverpool did they did with feeling, their arch rivals were the polar opposite with so many issues laid bare 

Where next? Manchester United's Harry Maguire looks dejected after Liverpool's Mohamed Salah scores their side's second goal of the game at Anfield. Photo: Mike Egerton/PA Wire.

Manchester United’s identity crisis really is a crisis 

This is a topic which comes up every time Manchester United fail to perform, but it has rarely been more relevant than in a match at Anfield in which the quality gap between themselves and Liverpool was so painfully obvious.

It wasn’t just that Liverpool’s players were better (although they were) it was everything they represented in the way they played, the way they thought, the values they carried with them.

You could see the evidence of almost seven years of a meticulous building of identity and ethos since Jurgen Klopp arrived on Merseyside.

It’s something that Sir Alex Ferguson also achieved at Old Trafford, of course, but since his retirement it has been irresponsibly allowed to drift away.

The strange appointment of Ralf Rangnick was, we were told, designed to set the process of building a new identity for United, before he later stepped aside to continue the same role off the field. But there is now no question that his appointment has been a failure. United have no identity, no consistent structure, no footballing ethos – and the performances emphasise that.

They arrived at Anfield with a new three-at-the-back formation, marshalled by the hapless Phil Jones even though Eric Bailly was available. “We practised it yesterday in training,” Rangnick reassured fans. You really couldn’t make it up. The back three was gone by 46 minutes – as were United.

Mo Salah is still the king of the Kop 

He hadn’t scored a goal from open play since February, but if anyone was serious in describing that as a problem (and surely they weren’t), Mo Salah reminded us that class is permanent with two goals His first, Liverpool’s second, came after 25 passes - including a beauty from Sadio Mane to set him up - and the finish was sumptuous and effortless. His second, Liverpool’s fourth, a cute finish from another fine move.

Salah now has 32 goals in 51 appearances in all competitions for club and country this season, so you could hardly say it was a drought; and because of the stability at Anfield there was never any danger of him being dropped. Klopp knew the goals would come.

That’s something for United to consider. They were without Cristiano Ronaldo here because of the tragic death of his baby son, and Marcus Rashford once again looked lost as his deputy.

The England man is the kind of streaky striker who scores his goals in batches, so the fact that he has been left out on so many occasions has done him few favours – and destroyed his confidence.

Luis Diaz and Thiago sum up Liverpool’s transfer success - and United's failure 

Recruitment is more than about money, because Manchester United have spent plenty of that to still be second best against both their noisy neighbours.

What we saw at Anfield was that strategy trumps Euros. Yes, some of the Liverpool squad have not come cheap, including almost 100m Euros spent on Virgil van Dijk, but every player has been bought to fit a plan.

United, by contrast, have bought on a whim whenever a big name becomes available. Ronaldo, Cavani, Ibrahimovic, for instance. Bruno Fernandes, perhaps, has been a success, although he was quiet at Anfield, but most others have been quick fixes with no vision for the future.

Luis Diaz is a fantastic example of how Liverpool do things differently. He cost 45m Euros from Porto but was hardly a superstar before he signed and arrived with little fuss or fanfare – and yet he has fitted in seamlessly. So much so that he has infiltrated the holy trinity up front.

He scored one and assisted another against United, taking his tally to four goals since arriving in January, and he looks a real player.

The only player ahead of him for man of the match was Thiago, a 24m Euro signing from Bayern Munich with whom Liverpool have had to be patient. The Spaniard took time to settle, but Klopp knew his qualities and stuck with him. Reward came here with a performance of pure class.