How a team who were thrashed 4-0 at Brentford last time out could overcome the battle, overcome their ability and, most importantly, overcome an opponent who beat them 9-0 on aggregate last term is the definition of of sport’s ability to revitalize. On a night where the latest anti-Glazer protests saw up to 10,000 marching to Old Trafford, United were a picture of bravery and quality from David de Gea in goal to Marcus Rashford at centre-forward. opener. Liverpool were a ghost side. Here, they left zero room for enforcement as Erik ten Hag’s side did just that in a victory that saw United overtake their rivals, who are yet to win the league this season. Against the backdrop of “we want the Glazers out”, United threatened first. Smooth interplay with Scott McTominay, Sancho and Bruno Fernandes had the ball zipping through the middle. Rashford went at it but when he was offloaded Virgil van Dijk blocked. Rashford then teed up Trent Alexander-Arnold, the defender blocked him and Christian Eriksen’s free-kick, taken on the edge of the area, won a corner. It yielded nothing, but United were in the game, Liverpool had no leg. Then Anthony Elanga, one of Ten Hag’s substitutes, slipped past Fernandes and his shot hit Alisson’s left-hand post, prompting boos from the crowd. What followed was a sweet back-and-forth sequence that ended with United scoring. Raphael Varane made a brilliant move, taking the ball out of Roberto Firmino’s toes in the area. Those in red moved up, before Elanga found Sancho, who feinted, left James Milner on his back and coolly beat Alisson. The excitement dominated the home team. For Liverpool, Milner gave Van Dijk something to talk about and Jurgen Klopp was a coach who was closed in the technical area. So far so good for United, a pattern that continued when the effervescent Elanga turned Alexander-Arnold and drew a free-kick. This time Eriksen’s free-kick was saved by Alisson. Jadon Sancho avoids James Milner’s challenge before firing Manchester United. Photo: David Davies/PA The intrigue was over which United would feature – and which Liverpool. At the start the first had zero points, the second two. Casemiro was paraded before the game, with the transfer official once the Brazil international has been granted a visa. Ten Haag’s title selection invitation dropped Harry Maguire and Cristiano Ronaldo. Removing their captain and arguably their best player proved a brave move as four of the starting 11 at Brentford were gone, Tyrell Malacia and McTominay replacing Luke Shaw and Fred. Klopp had 10 players unavailable, including several injured A-listers: Thiago Alcântara, Diogo Jota and Naby Keïta, plus the suspended Darwin Núñez. The manager’s preference for the functional 36-year-old Milner over Fabinho, a natural foot-holding player whose legs were the better part of a decade younger, was surprising. Klopp was in griping mode when Luis Diaz was booked for bringing down Diogo Dalot. In his view, the decision should have gone the other way. In the game here there was frustration at his side’s lack of power, epitomized by Liverpool’s first corner which arrived half an hour into the game. The visitors showed some resurgence when Alexander-Arnold’s cross was cleared by Varane and Harvey Elliott’s shot had to be stopped. However, Klopp’s charges fell short as Milner took a corner and Fernandes crashed the ball into his own goal only for Lisandro Martinez to save as he blocked on the line and hacked home. 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. For United to reassert their dominance in the second half, they could have done without McTominay conceding the ball out of his own area, but Fernandes was there to help his team-mate out and snuff out the danger. Liverpool enjoyed that surge but lacked quality, a ferocious volley from Salah emblematic of their problems. So United, their support as strong as in recent memory, proceeded to show the Egypt international how to do it much better with a classic counter. Henderson mischecked and Anthony Martial, replacing Elanga on the break, sent the ball to Rashford. Bursting out, the maverick forward beat Alisson with a sweet finish for a first league strike since January (and one that survived a marginal VAR check for offside). Ecstasy and delirium ensued and the question was what adjustment could Klopp make to stop United playing at a fever pitch? The response was to hook Henderson for Fabinho, the lead Milner somehow surviving. Despite this, United were a juggernaut. From deep inside their territory, Dalot headed to Sancho, who passed the ball to Martial. The forward skated forward and when he again tried to find Sanzo, the ball came back to him before Liverpool somehow saved. With nine minutes remaining, Salah gave Liverpool a lifeline, forcing home after the ball was broken for a corner. Ronaldo was introduced as United hoped to hold on for a thrilling victory. They did. Sancho said: “Last week hurt a lot – we had to recover. We have to produce in every game. We’re moving on.” Ten Hag’s tenure finally begins.
