Members of Liverpool's staff believe referee Anthony Taylor took pity on Manchester United as they were comprehensively mauled 5-0 by Jurgen Klopp's side.
Liverpool were four goals up at the break, courtesy of strikes from Mohamed Salah, Diogo Jota and Naby Keita, and things went from bad to worse for United as Salah added a fifth after the interval and Paul Pogba was shown a red card for a reckless challenge.
United ended the game with ten men, but according to The Athletic, there's a belief that more players could have been sent off and the officials actually 'took pity' on United to avoid making things even more embarrassing.
Cristiano Ronaldo was particularly fortunate to escape a first-half dismissal for aggressively kicking a ball at a prone Curtis Jones, with some believing VAR chose to spare Ronaldo.
Some close to the young midfielder were full of praise for his response, insisting Jones might have reacted badly when he was younger, but showed maturity in letting senior teammates handle the backlash.
