For all the improvements made under Erik ten Hag of late, there will no doubt have been nervous Manchester United supporters dreading the return to Anfield on Sunday, having seen their side hit for four in their last meeting on Merseyside under interim boss, Ralf Rangnick.

Few of those travelling fans would have anticipated things to get even worse this time around, however, with United producing a truly shambolic second-half display up against their long-time foes once again, having also previously conceded five when the two sides met at Old Trafford last term.

Up against a Liverpool side who have been far from at their best this season - having suffered their own collapse against Real Madrid just a few weeks ago - the Red Devils simply wilted at the first sign of pressure, with the eventual 7-0 scoreline likely to live long in the memory for both sets of supporters.

While the hope among Ten Hag and co will be that it is a mere anomaly, that will not wash with those who will have to endure the mockery of being reminded of the result for years to come, with a detailed, post-mortem required to ascertain just how things spiralled so drastically on the day.

When the former Ajax boss does take a second viewing at that grim performance, the Dutchman will likely be concerned at the display of one man in particular - Diogo Dalot - with the Portugal international having again crumbled in such a high profile fixture.

How did Dalot play against Liverpool?

As the Mirror's Colin Millar noted, the 23-year-old appears to have defensive "deficiencies" in his game which become exposed against elite opposition, having looked like something of a "weak spot" against Jurgen Klopp's men.

The former Porto gem was previously caught out in the 6-3 thrashing at the Etihad against Manchester City back in October, as he won just a solitary duel in that limp showing and achieved a 5.8 match rating, as per Sofascore - the lowest of any outfield player.

Having more recently sat out the Europa League meetings over Barcelona - with Aaron Wan-Bissaka favoured at right-back - Dalot then returned for the Carabao Cup final last week, although was hooked at half-time after struggling to contain the lively Allan Saint-Maximin.

Despite Wan-Bissaka impressing in that second half at Wembley - as the Englishman won eight duels in total - it was his teammate who was given the nod against the Merseysiders, albeit with that decision seemingly backfiring as Dalot went on to distinctly underwhelm on the right side of the defence.

The £26m-rated man was notably caught out of position for Cody Gakpo's opener, having also failed to clear Roberto Firmino's effort off the line late on, with those two moments encapsulating what was a "really poor" day for the defender - as per journalist Rob Blanchette.

Despite actually winning 12 of his 16 duels, the ten-cap dud was notably erratic in possession after losing the ball on 18 occasions and enjoying a pass accuracy rate of only 63%, having also been dribbled past twice as a marker of his woes.

In truth, Dalot has simply looked "a bit off it" since his return to the fold - as per Millar - after picking up an injury at the World Cup, with there now a very real case for Wan-Bissaka to be the "first-choice" pick moving forward, as per Daily Express journalist Alex Turk.

While the latter man had looked surplus to requirements prior to the January window, the former Crystal Palace ace has enjoyed a real revival in recent times, with it likely to be Dalot who is fearing for his future at present.

On the evidence of the Portuguese's defensive disasterclass at Anfield, it would be no surprise if Ten Hag is to bin the £25k-per-week man both in the short-term, but also in the long-term.