Jose Mourinho admit that Manchester United could not handle Liverpool’s intensity in their 3-1 defeat.
Xherdan Shaqiri’s second-half brace and an early Sadio Mane strike helped restore the Reds’ place as Premier League leaders in Sunday’s Anfield clash.
But while Jurgen Klopp’s side recorded a sixth consecutive victory, United are languishing 19 points off the pace as well as eight adrift of a top-four place.
Mourinho conceded that the Red Devils were unable to cope with Liverpool’s approach and singled out defender Andy Robertson for special praise.
He said: “The players gave everything and, when the players give everything, I am never frustrated towards them.
“They play in relation to their qualities, the same way Liverpool play in relation to their qualities. They [Liverpool] are fast, they are intense, they are aggressive, they are physical, they are objective.
“They play 200 miles per hour with and without the ball. I am still tired just looking at Robertson. He makes 100-metre sprints every minute, absolutely incredible, and these are qualities.
“When the game was really intense in the first 20-25 minutes it was difficult for us to cope. If you tell me in the first 25 minutes we are going to lose, I would say yes, it looks so.
“But the moment we lost the game was the moment we didn’t believe we would lose.”