'I starred in memorable Liverpool win vs Man Utd but next move didn't go to plan'

One of Liverpool's great days in recent years came at Old Trafford in October 2021 when they tore apart their arch rivals Manchester United in a five-star display.

Jurgen Klopp's side rocked up with the hosts fearing the worst and by half-time the Reds were 4-0 up. The first of those was scored by Naby Keita before Diogo Jota and Mohamed Salah let loose on the Manchester goal. United's weaknesses were well highlighted and Liverpool were able to regularly exploit them.

The ease with which they cut Liverpool apart allowed Keita to run through on goal, slotting past David de Gea to begin the rout. The away end would sing songs mocking Ole Gunnar Solskjaer being in charge. Anfield icon Kenny Dalglish grinned in the stands.

Keita arrived at Liverpool in 2018 with a huge reputation. The Reds spent a then club-record £54m to land him from RB Leipzig and the Guinean was adored by those on the red side of Merseyside, even if he was blighted by injury for much of his time.

He previously told The Guardian: “The Liverpool fans have given me a lot of love. Even today, wherever I meet them, they show me the same love. They’re the best fans in the world. Liverpool is a family and you never walk alone. My aim was to fulfil my childhood dream of winning titles.

"Winning the Premier League after 30 years, winning the Champions League – these are incredible moments that I can’t forget. We won a lot of trophies and we were able to make our fans happy. That was the most important thing. This team was hungry. We wanted to win every game and we were lucky to have Jürgen Klopp to push us to give our best on the pitch. He’s a fantastic coach and he was the strength of this group.”

Keita, who wore Steven Gerrard’s famous No 8 shirt at Liverpool, was part of the side that claimed the title in 2019/20. Their quality was often evident and only a stellar Manchester City outfit prevented them claiming more titles. The year they smashed the Red Devils they would reach 92 points - but missed out on league success to City on the final day.

Keita, still only 30, left Liverpool in 2023 after another near miss in the title race. His minutes had begun declining and he opted for a return to Germany, where he'd first made his name, with Werder Bremen. His move hasn't gone as he'd hoped by his own admission, but the motives behind the move were right.

“I had the option of extending my stay at Liverpool but, after five years, I wanted to get more playing time elsewhere,” he admitted. “I had several offers but I decided to sign for Bremen because Germany is a country I already know. I was also convinced by what the coach and management at Bremen had to say.

"I just wanted to play football, to be out on the pitch, making passes and scoring goals. If I wanted the money, I would have chosen to sign somewhere other than Bremen. Here, all that motivated me was to have the opportunity to play every weekend, enjoy myself and give pleasure. Unfortunately, things haven’t gone according to plan.”

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