Sir Alex Ferguson has conducted his fair share of post-mortems in his 24 years at Manchester United, but few will be as gory as his team's wretched display at Liverpool.

The 3-1 scoreline does not even begin to reflect a dire display from United, completely devoid of ideas and cohesion in a game that was considered crucial to their chances of winning a record-breaking 19th top flight title. For its utter ineptitude, United's performance rivalled the famous horror show when they crumbled to a 5-0 defeat at Kevin Keegan's Newcastle in October 1996.

A media blackout meant no-one from United shared their thoughts after the game, but you can be sure that an inquiry will be held internally: this is not the kind of performance deemed acceptable by a manager used to dominating all before him.

Perhaps Ferguson was simply speechless, lost for words after watching Dirk Kuyt score a hat-trick as Liverpool ran riot, with Luis Suarez and Raul Meireles playing their part after being given the freedom of Anfield for much of the game.

The full extent of the club's reaction to defeat against their fiercest rivals was a tweet by Rio Ferdinand that said: “Bad result today no excuses.”

No excuses indeed. No excuses for such a poor response after the 2-1 defeat at Chelsea last Tuesday, no excuses for awful defending, misplaced passing and dreadful decisions on the pitch. Just about everything went wrong.

Ferdinand, the England captain, is expected to return from a calf injury for the FA Cup clash against Arsenal at the weekend, as will Nemanja Vidic, who was suspended after his dismissal at Chelsea. On the evidence of a defensive performance that was all at sea, United need both of their first choice centre-backs fit for the rest of the season.

The result leaves United just three points ahead of Arsenal having played one game more and the title race has now snapped in to focus.

But so too have weaknesses in the United squad that have been there all season but only really come to the fore in the last week, with the players facing a serious test of character. The title is still in their hands and this is not a team of chokers, but it is a group of players Ferguson privately admits is on its last legs as he prepares for a summer reconstruction of his squad.

Frankly, there were too many players involved at Anfield that should not play such an important role in a clash that demands pace, energy and exuberance. United were completely dismantled in central midfield as Michael Carrick and Paul Scholes floundered, statuesque as Liverpool defenders flowed around them from all directions. The Red Devils certainly missed Darren Fletcher, who was on the bench after being ill for much of the week, and Ferguson made a mistake in not matching up against Liverpool's three-man midfield.

Scholes and Ryan Giggs have cemented their places as two of the greatest players in the club's history but, at 36 and 37 respectively, they looked every bit their age.

Carrick will simply be thankful he signed a new three-year contract before this performance. The fans won't, he has been well below-par this season and never even looked like he would try to take responsibility as Liverpool dominated from start to finish and he lacked the legs to handle them.

Nani's afternoon was ended by a disgraceful challenge by Jamie Carragher but not before the Portuguese winger's woefully misjudged header had presented Kuyt with a gift for the hosts' second goal. The nasty gash on Nani's leg suggested the news could get worse, with the club hoping to learn the extent of the injury on Monday. The 24-year-old has been United's best attacking player this season and they need his spark in the run-in.

The timing of the imminent returns of Park Ji-Sung and Antonio Valencia could not be better but both will be lacking sharpness and the fact remains that this is a United midfield in need of a considerable summer facelift.

Ferguson is certainly looking at the right kind of players in Luka Modric, Gareth Bale, Jack Rodwell and Ashley Young. All offer the energy, ideas and penetration that have been missing in a number of pedestrian performances in this campaign.

Ferguson complained about the lack of value in the market last summer, but the deals are out there. Real Madrid signed German playmaker Mesut Oezil for just £12.4 million while Tottenham snapped up Rafael van der Vaart for £8m on the last day of the summer transfer window.

Both players represent exactly what United need most – a long-term successor to Paul Scholes, somehow with attacking guile and imagination, an eye for a pass but equally an eye for goal. Other areas of the pitch may also need addressing.

Wes Brown has made a career out of slotting in as a reliable back-up but he looked well off the pace on his first league start since November, a bug that was even picked up by Chris Smalling, who fell apart after an impressive first 15 minutes.

And Wayne Rooney, who for the umpteenth time this season was worryingly abject as he gave away possession too often and never even looked like producing a moment of quality in the final third. His place must surely be under threat from Javier Hernandez, who has been in fine form and popped up with the consolation goal in the dying seconds.

United will always have the mentality to be able to respond and are not traditional 'bottlers' like Arsenal, their rivals for the Premier League crown. Ferguson knows this group of players is in its last throes, but the glaring weaknesses in his side were slammed home in defeat in the game he wants to win more than any other. For now, the Scot will just hope that there is still some life left to creep over the line before he can breathe new life into the squad.