Former Arsenal defender Paul Merson has described Manchester United's current crop of players as "one of the worst" he has ever seen following their latest setback.

The Red Devils fell to a 2-0 reverse at the home of arch-rivals Liverpool on Thursday night, leaving their hopes of progression in the Europa League hanging by a thread.

United struggled to get out of first gear for large parts of the match, with Merson becoming the latest pundit to slam the performance of the club's underperforming stars.

Speaking to Sky Sports News, he said: "Shocking, clueless, heartless, and brainless - one of the worst I've ever seen. I felt sorry for Manchester United fans the other night, I don't usually feel sorry for their fans because of the unbelievable success they've had over the years.

"But I felt for them at Anfield. They watched 11 players who didn't have a clue how big that football match was to those fans. [Louis] Van Gaal didn't have a clue how big the match was either.

"He is so far above himself that he didn't view that as a big game for the fans... either that or he is not worried about the fans getting the hump. 'We are working the right way, we're doing the right things' he was quoted as saying. It was like men against boys."

United have a chance to put things right when the two sides face off in the return leg next Thursday.