Man Utd were humiliated 3-0 by Bournemouth last weekend (Photo: Getty)
Dimitar Berbatov admits he ‘felt like s**t’ watching Manchester United lose to Bournemouth but remains hopeful they can get a result against Liverpool.
United travel to Anfield on Sunday off the back of two terrible results: a 3-0 home defeat to the Cherries and a 1-0 loss to Bayern Munich that saw them knocked out of the Champions League.
It’s been a woeful season for Erik ten Hag’s side who have lost 12 of their 24 games so far and if results go against them this weekend they could drop down to ninth in the Premier League.
Some performances have been unbearable to watch for fans, with former United striker Berbatov admitting it all got too much recently, telling Betfair: ‘I felt like s**t watching the Bournemouth game. United won against Chelsea and then they played Bournemouth at Old Trafford.
‘With all due respect to Bournemouth, United need to win games like this. I was watching the game, and it felt like United didn’t have an answer to the way Bournemouth were playing. Then they had Bayern Munich and lost that game.
‘Now they go to Liverpool. Even with the injury list, losing games means Erik ten Hag needs to answer questions.
‘You are doubting yourself and you’re now playing one of your biggest rivals. You are in a type of form that you don’t want to be in when you play Liverpool – that’s the problem.’
Erik ten Hag’s side were dumped out of Europe altogether after losing to Bayern Munich (Photo: Getty)
Liverpool are top of the table, 10 points clear of United, and are fully expected to sweep aside their arch-rivals having lost just once in the league this season.
United have won just one of their last 10 league meetings, haven’t won at Anfield since January 2016 and their last three losses to the Reds have a combined score of 16-0.
Nevertheless, Berbatov believes that the nature of the derby could fire the Red Devils back to life, adding: ‘Of course, there’s hope – there is always hope! Especially when it’s a derby.
Liverpool thrashed Man Utd 7-0 when they last met in March (Photo: Getty)
‘United are coming off the back of two defeats, but when it’s a derby you expect the boys to understand what this game is about. Even though they have lost the previous two games, United still have to believe they can beat Liverpool on Sunday.
‘It doesn’t matter how hard it is. The chance is there. Liverpool are the favourites on paper, based on the results, but in games like this, the hope is always there, as long as you don’t make stupid mistakes.
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‘Just forget about the last two games. Try to get the positives out of the performances when you play. Just imagine that this is the first game of the Premier League season and it so happens you play against Liverpool, so you go out there and show you’re ready for the battle.
‘That’s it. There is no big philosophy. Just keep it simple. It’s going to be tough, but United have surprised people before when they’ve been in bad positions by winning.’
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