Manchester United have condemned fans who chanted about the Hillsborough disaster during the Europa League defeat at Liverpool on Thursday and Merseyside police has said there will be an investigation if any complaints are received.

The first meeting in European competition of English football’s most successful clubs was marred by the behaviour of some of the travelling support. At several points during the game, which Louis van Gaal’s team lost 2-0, United fans could be heard taunting Liverpool supporters about the 96 deaths that occurred at Hillsborough during the 1989 FA Cup semi-final against Nottingham Forest. There was also reported chanting regarding the Heysel disaster of 1985, when 39 people in the Juventus end were killed when a wall collapsed after clashes with Liverpool fans.

A United statement read: “It has always been the position of Manchester United that chants of this nature, which refer to historical tragedies, have no place in the game and do not reflect the values the club holds. We are in discussion with our fans’ groups to seek their support in preventing this type of behaviour in the future.”

There is a history of unpalatable chants being heard during the fixture. Liverpool fans have previously sung about the 1958 Munich air disaster.

Merseyside police had not received a complaint by 6pm on Friday but the match commander, Ch Supt Jon Ward, said: “We … are aware of media coverage. Merseyside police take all reports seriously and where offences are identified we would investigate such complaints thoroughly. The vast majority of fans behaved impeccably and enjoyed the occasion for what it was – a highly competitive football match between two passionate clubs and their supporters. A great deal of work went into planning for the match involving the clubs, the police and most importantly the fans.

“The safety of all fans attending Anfield on match day will always be our absolute priority but we can only achieve this through the professionalism of the people who work at the event and through the cooperation of the fans themselves.”

Uefa is waiting for a report from the match before deciding whether to take any disciplinary action against United.

The former Liverpool midfielder Ray Houghton condemned the chanting. “There were people in the crowd who lost loved ones at Hillsborough and that’s really hard to take,” he told BBC Radio 5 Live. “It’s something we don’t want to hear. It’s happened in the past with Liverpool fans to Manchester United with what happened at Munich. It’s uncalled for.

“When you lower yourself to that level [of those fans], it’s quite remarkable. It should have been a night of celebration - they haven’t played each other in a European tie before. The fans should have been getting behind their own team. When you stoop as low as they did, for me, it’s dreadful.”