"We win and lose together" - Erik ten Hag unwilling to shift blame onto Manchester United stars after 7-0 humiliation against Liverpool

Manchester United suffered a devastating 7-0 loss to Liverpool in their latest Premier League clash at Anfield on March 5. Braces from Cody Gakpo, Darwin Nunez and Mohamed Salah, and another goal from Roberto Firmino sunk the Red Devils.

United are set to return to action on Thursday (March 19) as they take on Real Betis at home in the first leg of their UEFA Europa League Round of 16 clash. Speaking ahead of the match, manager Erik ten Hag was quizzed about whether the players let him down against Liverpool.

The Dutchman said (via United's official website):

"No. We are in the same boat and we did it in togetherness. So we win together, we lose together, so all we made a mess on Sunday and we have to deal with that."

He was further asked about how the Manchester United players have reacted to the loss over the past two days. Ten Hag said:

"I think the players, they reflected well. We know, but we also know when you go in the season, the setbacks will always be there. And this was a huge setback, clear. But when you are - we had a run of, I think, 23 games with one loss, and that was the second, but, of course, the way there were a lot of lessons in it that can help us for the future. That is what we have, so [that is] the positive out of it."

He added:

"[The] negative is that we were really below average, especially mentally. We have to take the lessons. We want to be a big team, we want to bring trophies, so then you have to act different and I think, after Sunday, we got a big lesson, we take that, but now we have to move on and we have to look forward. So that is the way we treated it, and now all the energy, all the focus, has to be on the next game."

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Manchester United remain third in the Premier League despite the loss against Liverpool

While their loss against Liverpool was a devastating one to handle for Manchester United, they have retained third spot in the Premier League table. Ten Hag's side currently have 49 points after 25 matches.

They are 14 points behind leaders Arsenal with a game in hand. After the home clash against Betis, the Red Devils will take on Southampton in a Premier League home clash on March 12.

Manchester United will hope to get their form back soon if they are to compete for the Europa League title. They will also look to continue their push to secure a UEFA Champions League qualification spot for next season.