From the burgeoning ire of the United fans before the game to the prospect of the eternal rivals visiting, desperate to lay further embarrassment at the door of our new manager, fearing the worst, I really was not looking forward to writing this one.
But how wrong was I.
How wrong was I to think that we wouldn’t get a reaction from that pitiful display at Brentford; how wrong was I to think that the gurgling discontent of the fans wouldn’t spur the players on in their hour of need, and how wrong was I to think that Erik ten Hag might not know what he was doing…
Questions of whether Ten Hag had the minerals to deal with some of the headstrong personalities currently occupying the United dressing room surrounded much of the speculation about his appointment in the summer; questions of whether he could make the right decisions – the tough decisions. But after dropping club captain Harry Maguire, perennial first-team fixture Luke Shaw, and the iconic Cristiano Ronaldo; I’m not sure you can ask those questions anymore.
Team selection
Starting Tyrell Malacia alongside fellow summer arrival Lisandro Martinez as part of a new-look back four, as well as giving the go-ahead to a front three of Elanga, Rashford and Sancho was a risk. But a risk that paid off. Trent Alexander-Arnold especially couldn’t live with the dynamism of that front three and they really should’ve scored one or two more in that first half, latching onto first-time balls from the midfield.
The back four stood tall and made the Liverpool attack look pretty toothless, and even if they were without their new £100m signing Darwin Nunez, this is the same Manchester United that made an over-the-hill Danny Welbeck look like prime Didier Drogba, so I’ll take anything at the moment.
The second half felt like an early Solskjaer throwback in a big game; lots of men behind the ball and then break with lightning speed in the transition. The last quarter especially however, we were a bit too timid for my liking and the Salah goal was coming. But through our grit and determination, we managed to see the game out; a sentence I really did not think I would be writing after the spineless, gutless mess we saw against both Brentford and Brighton.
Martinez x Varane
Martinez’s height was at the forefront of much of the talk after United’s rather embarrassing defeat against Brentford; but the problem that day was much more systemic, much more fundamental. He was an easy target. Nipping in front of the forwards at every opportunity and throwing himself at every ball like his life depended on it, the Argentine showed his class against Liverpool’s star-studded forward line; sprinkle in a little bit of his dark arts and I think I might be in love with him already.
And on Varane, quite simply, I refuse to believe the man who cut his teeth at arguably the most ruthless place in all of European football, thriving alongside and against some of the best players in the world, isn’t a good footballer. His leadership abilities shone through in what was probably his best performance in a United shirt. Keep him fit and keep him next to Martinez and we might just be in business.
Captain Bruno
After usual skipper Harry Maguire was dropped to the bench and there was no place in the line-up for Ronaldo, Bruno Fernandes took up the mantle of captain. Having not been at his best for some time, this game was the return of the Bruno we know and love. He really should’ve had at least two assists in the first 15-20 minutes, particularly from the chance he served up to Anthony Elanga that rattled back off the post.
Him alongside Christian Eriksen at the heart of the midfield pulling the strings was a timely reminder
of what the Portuguese has in his locker. Also, I don’t care what anyone says, I loved his little bit of gamesmanship after Salah scored and it might be an unpopular opinion, but I was loving him diving all over the place as well. I know it’s not for everyone, but we need those sorts of characters in the team. Enough of the pearl-clutching, let Bruno be Bruno.
Let’s not get carried away
The performance was much better than what we’ve seen and a surprise, I’m sure, to most of the fanbase – but let’s not get ahead of ourselves. As I said before, the game was more reminiscent of the Solskjaer days; we were counterattacking, reactive and on the back foot for most, if not all, of the second half. A necessary evil for now, but this is surely not how the Dutchman envisages his Manchester United team playing in the future.
We’re clearly not at the stage of being able to control games like this yet and not to put a downer on the game, but I don’t think any of us would be that surprised if we come away from this result and lose against Southampton on Saturday anyway. Much like what Ten Hag said in his post-match interview, we can’t just show this tenacity and fight against Liverpool, we need to be doing it week in, week out regardless of the opposition or competition. This is a good start but there’s still a long way to go.
Back the manager
The manager has shown what he can do now. To turn that lot around from shipping four against Brentford in half an hour, to out-battling and outrunning one of the champions elect, is really quite a turnaround. Martinez, Malacia and Eriksen all looked the part during the game, so it seems the gaffer’s talent ID is on point, even if it is early days.
But he needs more…
Not just more money and backing from the board, that’s a well-trodden path that we don’t need to go down again, but more time from the fans. He said it time and time again during preseason, it will take time to impart his philosophy onto the players. There will be bumps in the road – Christ knows we’ve already had some – but given the time and tools to do so, I believe Erik ten Hag can be the man to take us back to where we belong and, in his own words, playing some good f***ing football.
This is just the start, the same again on Saturday against Southampton is required. Keep going.