Manchester United celebrated their first win of the season in the Premier League on Monday at the end of the third round. Coach Erik ten Hag’s team deservedly won 2-1 against Liverpool in the crisis duel and scored the first three points after two zeros at the start. Liverpool, however, remained without a win in the new season and slipped to 16th place with only two points to their tally.
Jadon Sancho (16th) and Marcus Rashford (53rd), who scored for the first time since January and 997 minutes respectively, decided the explosive prestige duel in Old Trafford in favor of the home side. Mohamed Salah (81st) scored late for the still winless team of coach Jürgen Klopp from Liverpool. But the “Reds” couldn’t do more than the consolation goal.
ManUnited coach Erik ten Hag, who has been heavily criticized, also took a personal risk when he set up the line-up when he banished leading players Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw to the bench alongside his superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, who was willing to leave. But it paid off, Manchester played like a substitute.
Liverpool were under a lot of pressure due to the high pressure and rarely showed their dreaded switching moments without Darwin Nunez, who was suspended. United, however, wrote for the first time after 15 minutes: Sancho acted in front of the goal with technical finesse and overview. It was United’s first goal of the season after Alexis Mac Allister’s own goal in the 2-1 draw with Brighton & Hove.
Attempt at clarification goes almost in the eye
Liverpool launched their attacks after half an hour, and given the best chance, a United professional almost struck for the “Reds”. Bruno Fernandes shot directly at his own goal when trying to clear, teammate Lisandro Martinez saved from the line. United benefited from a mistake by Jordan Henderson to make it 2-0, Anthony Martial brought on Rashford, who was barely offside, and gave Liverpool’s Alisson no chance.
David de Gea in the home side’s goal saved United from a quick goal with a save against Luis Diaz. It should fall late after a corner kick followed by a Salah header. But more was no longer possible for Jürgen Klopp’s team, which was still without a win. Ronaldo still came into play in the finish for the winners.
Fans go on barricades before the game
A larger group of ManUnited fans had protested before kick-off. Her displeasure was once again directed at the Glazer family from the USA, who own it. A large number of police officers were deployed around the stadium. Before the duel against the “Reds” in May 2021, supporters broke into Old Trafford during their protest and ignited plenty of pyrotechnics. The game was the first in Premier League history to be postponed due to fan protests.
Manchester’s hopefuls, on the other hand, received great applause: Casemiro was officially introduced to the audience. The Brazilian joined from Real Madrid for €70m but was not yet eligible to play due to visa issues.
