Supporters are at their wits end with the controversial owners, and newly formed group ‘The 1958’ led the last anti-American demonstration before kick-off. Fans gathered at the Tollgate pub, about half a mile from the stadium, for the planned pre-match rally. Start your evenings with the Guardian’s view of the world of football Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. ‘United for $ale’ read a banner spread at the front of the crowd which moved slowly and strongly towards Old Trafford, with more supporters joining in on the way. That banner also carried an image of Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the British billionaire who last week gave supporters an extra rallying point when he expressed an interest in buying the club. The message on another flag read: “We want our club back,” as smoke from flares filled the air and chants of anti-Glazer could be heard. A heavy police presence attended the event, which arrived at Old Trafford around 30 minutes before the match. With the march ending near United’s ‘Trinity’ statue outside the stadium, where hundreds of fans had already gathered, many Liverpool fans were held back in a car park by police to avoid trouble. The demonstration was largely peaceful, although there were some isolated incidents of rockets being thrown over the wall separating protesters from Liverpool fans. The trouble was quickly quelled by the police, but the protest took so long to clear up that the away fans held back until kick-off. Those Liverpool fans who had arrived at the ground early, however, sang “Up the Glazers” and brought out hundreds of masks of Avram Glazer, United’s executive co-chairman and director. Otherwise, it was noticeably quiet inside the stadium as kick-off approached. United confirmed the signing of Real Madrid midfielder Casemiro before the game and the Brazil international was paraded onto the pitch to a mixture of applause and anti-Glazer chants. Goals from Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford gave Erik ten Hag his first win since arriving at Old Trafford.
