“He is athletic, looks like a pound for pound strong kid, he is tenacious” – Rio Ferdinand compares Manchester United defender to Red Devils legend

Rio Ferdinand has compared new signing Tyrell Malacia to former Manchester United left-back Patrice Evra following his performance against Liverpool.

The Red Devils secured a memorable 2-1 win over rivals Liverpool at Old Trafford on Monday (August 22). Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho were the goalscorers for Manchester United as they registered their first win of the season.

Malacia recorded a complete full-back performance against Liverpool. The Dutchman was great going forward and was defensively sound as well. He ended the game with five tackles, three clearances, an interception and six successful duels.

Up against Mohamed Salah on the left flank, Malacia did extremely well to keep the Egyptian superstar's impact to a minimum. Salah, however, did score a goal late in the game.

Ferdinand praised Malacia's performance against Liverpool. The former player-turned-pundit compared him to Evra and was impressed by how he dealt with Salah.

Speaking in one of the videos from his YouTube channel FIVE, Rio Ferdinand was quoted as saying the following (via The People's Person):

“He [Malacia] reminds me of Patrice Evra, in many ways. He is athletic, he looks like a pound for pound strong kid, he is tenacious.”

He added:

“There ain’t many left backs in the last three of four years who have kept Mo Salah quiet. In terms of the physical duels, he was on him, and when Salah did get past him, he had the pace to recover.”

Malacia was Manchester United's first signing of the Erik ten Hag era. The Dutch international arrived at Old Trafford from Eredivise giants Feyenoord for a fee of around £13 million.

The game against Liverpool was Malacia's first senior start for his new club. If he continues to put in similar displays, Luke Shaw, who started United's first two league games, could find it difficult to break into the team once again.

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Manchester United's new signings played their part against Liverpool

Apart from Malacia, Manchester United's other summer recruits also had a great game against Liverpool. Both Christian Eriksen and Lisandro Martinez put in solid displays to help their side see out the win.

Martinez displayed solidity and ruggedness in defense alongside Raphael Varane. The Argentine international troubled Liverpool's attackers and his hard tackles denied the Reds an opportunity to score.

Martinez and the rest of the Manchester United defense were unlucky not to keep a clean sheet against Liverpool.

Eriksen nearly scored from a free-kick in the first half but was denied by an athletic save from goalkeeper Alisson Becker. He helped the Red Devils tick in midfield.