Player ratings: Liverpool 2-0 Manchester United

That was awful.

David de Gea: 8

The best player on the pitch by an almost embarrassing margin, and the only person on United's side of the argument to come out of the game with any credit. Made one brilliant save, augmented that with several very good ones, and if he does decide at the end of the season that he's too good for this nonsense, then he'll be right, and nobody associated with United will have any cause to blame him.

Marcos Rojo: 3

One of United's stronger moments of possession — and there weren't that many — ended when Rojo twatted the ball into the Anfield crowd from about thirty yards. We would criticise him for this, but it was an accurate and perceptive assessment of United's attacking ability and in dark times like these, the truth is the most important thing.

Daley Blind: 3

Sort of present yet not really present, like a lingering smell.

Chris Smalling: 3

Remember earlier in the season, when Smalling was "brilliant" and "strong" and "the leader of Manchester United's defence" and "establishing himself as a top-class central defender". What happened to that? We miss that. That was fun.

Guillermo Varela: 4

Did some crossing. It wasn't particularly good, but at least it showed willing.

Morgan Schneiderlin: 4

Can't be easy playing in a midfield two when the other one is actually a negative number. As far as your correspondent can recall, managed to avoid doing anything actively appalling.

Marouane Fellaini: no mark awarded

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Marcus Rashford: 4

Marcus Rashford came into the United side as an emergency striker and announced himself with four very good, very sharp penalty box finishes in two games. Now he's a right winger and spent the entire first half kicking, or getting kicked by, Alberto Moreno. Most peculiar.

Juan Mata: 3

Didn't get sent off. Didn't do anything else.

Memphis Depay: 2

Will, we hope, have learned that it's a bad idea to make any sort of contact with sprinting full backs on the edge of the box. Will, we hope, not be dropped by Manchester United's next manager just as starts to come into a bit of form. Will, we hope, actually start affecting games against decent opposition.

Anthony Martial: missing, presumed dead

That Martial miscontrolled United's only decent pass of the evening was frustrating, but shouldn't have come as a shock. He'd spent so long alone up front — so terribly, so completely alone — that he did well not to break down in tears at the sight of a football. They remembered me! They came back!

Michael Carrick (on for Rashford, 45'): 1

Old, broken, and still not a central defender. The halftime tactical switch actually worked for ten minutes or so, until Liverpool figured out what was going on; shortly after that, his usefulness exhausted, Carrick forgot how to control a football and donated Liverpool the second goal, which has probably killed the tie. Well, killed it more than it was already killed. How can you kill that which has no life?

Bastian Schweinsteiger (on for Schneiderlin, 79'): meh

"Alright, Bastian. Forget about the horse. Get on there and give that stable door a good seeing to."

Ander Herrera (on for Mata, 79'): meh redux

"And you, Ander. And you."