Last chance saloon beckons for Brendan Rodgers' Liverpool at plucky Bournemouth

Liverpool’s porous defence watch on as Wayne Rooney opens Manchester United’s account on Sunday

Perhaps the most suitable assessment dawned five minutes before Martin Atkinson would signal the onset of half-time, mid-way through the 40th minute, seconds after Juan Mata had augmented Manchester United’s ascendancy and extinguished any lasting hope this lethargic Liverpool side harboured.

More than a hint of vengeance and glee lingered in the taunts emanating from the Stretford End and beyond, but also a sense of satisfaction borne from past experiences. The bellows were loud and clear, delivering a message much more sophisticated than at face value, the words “You’re getting sacked in the morning” reverberating around Old Trafford, from the terraces to the touch-line where a beleaguered Brendan Rodgers stood impotently.

It was more than the glee at taunting their old-age rivals, their nemesis. It was a mere four months ago when the bragging rights belonged to the Liverpool support who had relentlessly reminded United of their discerning demise, of the 14 points gap which had existed between the two as Liverpool pursued the title and United languished in seventh. The chants differed, but the most prominent was their assessment of David Moyes’ woe, of the bold prediction that he would be ‘sacked in the morning’. Now, it was Old Trafford’s turn.

A pressing concern

But the most pressing concern for Rodgers, however, will be the lethargy and apathy in which his side succumbed to a vibrant United though not deprived of fault. The defensive errors were numerous, endeavours to regain possession almost non-existent and profligacy all too prominent. The defence was porous and exploited by United’s offensive players, the likes of Robin van Persie and Wayne Rooney.

Had Raheem Sterling converted when confronted by David De Gea on two instances, a completely different game would have unfolded. Nonetheless, Liverpool bore the look of a side slipping uncontrollably in the decline, an impending full blown crisis.

This humbling defeat invited stark comparisons to March this year when Liverpool produced the most comprehensive away performance ever witnessed at Old Trafford. Rodgers’s side dismantled United, playing with a verve and vibrancy which has eluded them so far this season. United languished in the shadows of Luis Suarez, Daniel Sturridge and Sterling as Liverpool revved towards the title. What a difference four months make.

Collective pain at hands of rivals

Of all their seven defeats, this latest disappointment represents the most painful for the Kop to digest, succumbing in unacceptable circumstances to their most detested rivals. It seems unimaginable for a manager heralded as the LMA Manager of the Year last season to depart in December of the new season, but this loss has augmented the possibility of such a decision from the Liverpool hierarchy.

It is why the League Cup quarter-final at Bournemouth on Wednesday is of so much importance. The League Cup represents, in tandem with the FA Cup and the Europa League, Liverpool’s solitary remaining realistic hopes of silverware, having been eliminated from the Champions League and their title challenge in the Premier League dead before it ever commenced.

It is the last thing Liverpool need, a sudden-death tie away at Dean Court to Championship leaders Bournemouth, the most prolific scorers in all four divisions of English football. A respite eludes Rodgers, with Arsenal visiting Anfield Sunday next.

A last chance saloon beckons for Rodgers at plucky Bournemouth.