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Manchester United defeated Liverpool 2-1 in the Premier League on Monday, August 23.
The Reds have had a shaky start to their campaign as their squad is marred by injuries. They drew against new boys Fulham and were lucky to walk away with a point against Crystal Palace after Darwin Nunez was sent off. With limited options available, Jurgen Klopp fielded a strong lineup.
United, on the other hand, announced the signing of Casemiro from Real Madrid. Having lost their opening two games, the Red Devils were eager to turn the tide in front of the Old Trafford faithful. Erik Ten Hag fielded a dynamic lineup with pace and agility as he dropped Cristiano Ronaldo and Harry Maguire.
Manchester United made an encouraging start to the game. Defenders Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez imposed their physicality from the start. Anthony Elanga and Marcus Rashford caused problems to Liverpool's defense with their pace going forward.
United were first on the scoresheet, much to the delight of their fans. Elanga cut the ball back well into Jadon Sancho's path, who showed great close control to evade James Milner's sliding tackle. He then slotted into the uncovered bottom-left corner to make it 1-0 after 16 minutes.
Liverpool looked cold as they failed to retain the ball to create chances of their own. With their primary distributor Thiago out with an injury, the Reds are now severely short of top quality in midfield. They did not threaten to score as Manchester United grew stronger with every passing minute.
The hosts went into the break with a one-goal lead.
Manchester United came out with even more determination in the second half as they continued to control the flow of the game. Erik ten Hag's tactical set-up was executed to perfection by his players as they nullified Liverpool's threats.
The hosts increased their lead after 53 minutes as substitute Anthony Martial played Marcus Rashford through on goal. He maintained his composure and slotted the ball past Alisson to make it 2-0.
Liverpool managed to grab a goal back after 81 minutes. Fabio Carvalho received the ball and took a deft touch to cushion it, turn and fire a shot goalwards. De Gea saved the shot but it fell straight to Mohamed Salah, who promptly nodded in to make it 2-1.
Despite a nervy ending to the game, Manchester United held on to secure what was a massive win over Liverpool. That said, let's take a look at the hits and flops from the game.
#5 Hit - Jadon Sancho's composure in front of goal
Sancho has faced relentless criticism and ridicule from his own fans, rival fans and pundits since his arrival from Borussia Dortmund. Prior to kickoff, he only managed three goals and three assists in the Premier League.
However, he opened the scoring for Manchester United with a composed bit of play to navigate through tight spaces and score. Sancho received the ball from Elanga and used his close control to get past James Milner, who tried to close him down. He then waited until Alisson moved across goal and then slotted the ball into the net.
Despite receiving criticism at a young age, Sancho did well to silence his critics, albeit momentarily. His presence of mind in and around the box is exactly what Manchester United need.
#4 Flop - Jurgen Klopp's decision to start both Milner & Henderson
In the bigger picture, there is no doubt that James Milner and Jordan Henderson are bonafide Premier League greats. However, with age catching up to them, they often struggle to match the intensity of their teammates in Jurgen Klopp's "Gegenpressing" system.
Henderson struggled to pick up the right pass on multiple occasions as he spent extra time on the ball. This allowed Manchester United's midfield to cut passing lanes or close him down with relative ease.
Milner, on the other hand, looked a step off the pace while marking the hosts' young and pacey forwards. It showed in one of the most important moments of the game, as he committed to a tackle on Sancho but was beaten all ends up as he slid past. Liverpool conceded immediately after to go a goal down.
#3 Hit - Marcus Rashford's relentless attitude
Marcus Rashford has a penchant for turning up the heat in high-octane matches and he did that against Liverpool. His pace and direct running proved problematic for Trent Alexander-Arnold, who was often caught off guard trying to mark Rashford. The full-back also gave away a dangerous free-kick in the first half after the attacker did well to get to the ball first.
He scored from a counter-attack early in the second half after being played through by Martial. He did well to keep his cool and picked the right time to strike the ball and beat Alisson to make it 2-0.
He had a great game as Manchester United's lone striker and made things happen, showing glimpses of his true self.
#2 Flop - Luis Diaz's lack of creativity
Diaz was a star for Liverpool after scoring a wonderfully crafted solo goal against Crystal Palace last week. He was given additional credit for the goal considering the Reds had only just gone down to 10 men following Nunez's sending off. However, he struggled to make inroads through a well-organized United defense.
He played the entire game but failed to create a clear-cut chance to score from. He passed the ball with 81% accuracy but failed to put in a single accurate cross, long ball or an important pass. Diaz won just eight of his 23 duels as he was dispossessed a whopping 20 times, second only to Alexander-Arnold, who was dispossessed 24 times.
Diaz attempted two shots, with one on target and the other going wide, which was a big chance for Liverpool to score. His lack of output stood out in an already misfiring XI.
#1 Hit - Erik ten Hag's team selection
The build-up to this game was dominated by two major stories. One was Casemiro's imminent arrival and the other was whether Erik ten Hag would make changes to his side from last week.
The Dutchman fielded a lineup with an average age of just 25.8 years compared to 28.1 last week. The main reasons for the big drop were his decisions to bench Ronaldo, Maguire, Fred and Luke Shaw.
Raphael Varane, Anthony Elanga, Tyrell Malacia and Scott McTominay started as the Red Devils looked to use their young legs to effectively navigate Liverpool's press.
Ten Hag suggested his reasons for dropping the aforementioned players were the need to have players who can press and run with intensity for long periods. His tactics were spot-on and were well-executed by his players. It earned Manchester United their first win of the season.
