Cristiano Ronaldo rues Liverpool thrashing: "Our fans don't deserve this"

Cristiano Ronaldo said Manchester United's slothful performance at home to their eternal rivals Liverpool on Sunday was unacceptable and that the fans deserve much better. United were trounced 0-5 by Jürgen Klopp's Reds at Old Trafford and had Paul Pogba sent off just 15 minutes after he had been sent on as a second half sub.

It was a day to forget for Ronaldo and United, who trailed by four goals at half-time for the first time in a Premier League fixture. Mohamed Salah scored a hat trick as United lost by a margin of five or more goals at home without scoring themselves for the first time since a 0-5 derby defeat to Manchester City in 1955.

United have only lost by a larger margin to Liverpool once - in October 1895 when the Reds beat them 7-1 at Anfield, while it was the largest margin of defeat in this fixture when playing on home soil. Ronaldo, who was frustrated throughout, used social media to react to the miserable outing in Manchester.

We are the only ones to blame for Liverpool defeat, says Ronaldo

"Sometimes the result is not the one we fight for. Sometimes the score is not the one we want," the five-time Ballon d'Or winner wrote on his Instagram account. "And this is on us, only on us, because there’s no one else to blame. Our fans were, once again, amazing in their constant support. They deserve better than this, much better, and it's up to us to deliver. The time is now!"

Sunday's defeat was only the second time in 617 top-flight league appearances that Ronaldo has ended on the losing side by five-plus goals in a match, with the other defeat a 0-5 defeat to Barcelona while he was at Real Madrid in November 2010.

United are seventh in the standings, seven points behind second-placed Liverpool and eight adrift of leaders Chelsea through nine rounds.