Owen: The moment players put on Man Utd shirt, his performance goes down 10-20%

Michael Owen has labelled Manchester United’s players a ‘disgrace’ following their 4-0 drubbing to Liverpool on Tuesday night.

Despite being just three points off fourth placed Tottenham, United performed poorly at Anfield as goals from Luis Diaz, Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane left their Champions League hopes in tatters.

The display was reminiscent of United’s previous encounter with Liverpool earlier this season when they suffered a 5-0 beating at Old Trafford after struggling to close down Jurgen Klopp’s players.

Owen, who played at United for three years, believes Liverpool’s work ethic out of possession is what separates the two sides and has called the lack of effort by Ralf Rangnick’s team a ‘disgrace’.

He said: ‘Look when Liverpool lose the ball in an instant the reaction is run, run, run, get the ball back. I’d love to see the running stats tonight. Liverpool give the ball away but their attitude to get the ball back straight away is different class.

‘That needs to come from the manager. It’s every day in training. It’s got to become second nature. When Manchester United lose the ball they are an absolute disgrace.’

At Anfield, United were punished for a slow start when Diaz tapped in Salah’s cross within just six minutes. Liverpool scored a second when a team move was finished off by Salah later in the first-half. A goal from Mane and a second for Salah sealed a memorable victory for the Merseyside giants in the second 45.

However, the disappointing performances from United’s top players took the focus of the post-match analysis. Defender Harry Maguire was thought to be out of position for two of Liverpool’s goals. Meanwhile, Bruno Fernandes was deemed ineffectual in midfield.

Since Sir Alex Ferguson has retired, United have spent over £1 billion on transfers but are set to go five years without a trophy.

Owen thinks his old club will continue to struggle unless they find the right manager and back him to buy the players he wants.

He added: ‘United have gone through this process of buying great players for years and years. Look how much they’ve spent. Look how many great players they’ve had that have turned average.

‘As soon as you put that red shirt on at the moment, your performance level goes down 10 or 20 percent. I can’t think of one player in the last 10 years who is actually better than when they signed them. It’s unbelievable.

‘Getting the right manager is a must to start with, before you start throwing £100 million at it again.’