Micah Richards has criticised Conor Bradley, Milos Kerkez and Alexander Isak following Liverpool’s 2-1 defeat to Manchester United, saying the trio are ‘shadows of the players’ they were last season.

The reigning Premier League champions appeared to have rescued a point after Cody Gakpo struck in the 78th minute to cancel out Bryan Mbeumo’s early opener in Sunday’s thriller at Anfield.

But United refused to lie down and were rewarded for their spirited efforts as Harry Maguire rose the highest and thudded an emphatic header beyond Giorgi Mamardashvili to send the away end into raptures.

Liverpool’s latest setback – their fourth successive loss in all competitions – leaves the club down in fourth place in the table, four points adrift of league leaders Arsenal.

Meanwhile, United, whose previous win at Anfield came back in 2016, rose to ninth, with Ruben Amorim registering back-to-back victories for the first time since taking over the reins from Erik ten Hag.

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