It proved to be a memorable night at Old Trafford on Monday as Manchester United secured a crucial 2-1 victory over rivals Liverpool.
Jadon Sancho opened the scoring after just 16 minutes before Marcus Rashford doubled United’s advantage early in the second half. Liverpool pulled a goal back through Mohamed Salah late on but it proved to be too little too late for Jurgen Klopp’s men, who remain winless in the Premier League so far this season.
There was plenty of pressure on the Red Devils coming into the clash. They started in the relegation zone and without a point from their first two games. As a result, Erik ten Hag made a number of big changes to his starting XI, deciding to start Raphael Varane and Anthony Elanga in place of Harry Maguire and Cristiano Ronaldo.
On that decision, the United boss said: “Personally it’s always difficult but I have decisions to make. One I will say we have a squad and we need to use the squad, we play 50-60 games so from game to game we will see what we have to pick. I don’t have to mention Maguire or Ronaldo I have players and they will play in the future and short future”.
It wasn’t just changes to the starting lineup that Ten Hag made, but also adaptions to the way in which United approached the game. In the wake of their embarrassing 4-0 defeat to Brentford, much was made of David De Gea's performance and United’s issues in playing out from the back.
There were major concerns about how the same would transpire against Liverpool who are well-known for their aggressive pressing capabilities. Many expected United’s frailty in this area to be one of their biggest undoings against the Merseysiders on the night.
Ten Hag surprisingly opted to veer away from his usual possession-based philosophy, though, instead seeming to instruct his United team to play much more direct. Their average in terms of passes made per possession fell to just 2.45 - it was 5.8 against Brentford and 4.77 vs Brighton.
Meanwhile their possession average of 29.16 was their lowest since their defeat to Manchester City back in March. This change in approach started at the back, with De Gea making it clear that United weren’t going to risk cheap turnovers in dangerous areas of the pitch.
On the night, he hit 78 per cent of his kicks long. Against Brentford that average was 40 per cent, while it was just 21 per cent against Brighton.
De Gea’s performances have come under greater scrutiny in more recent years. He’s still a fine shot-stopper, however his inability to play out to a high standard with his feet is predicted to be a hindrance going forward under Ten Hag.
Going long proved the ideal short-term solution to aid both him and United on Monday night, however it’s worth noting that these issues are likely to surface again against different opponents as the campaign progresses.
