Manchester United recorded their first win of the Erik ten Hag era as the Dutchman's tactics and preparation worked wonders against Liverpool.
A 2-1 success at Old Trafford came after a 4-0 mauling at Brentford, which saw the club and the players come in for huge criticism. Ten Hag used that reverse as a motivating factor, which proved advantageous.
In the background there continues to be talks or major ins and outs at the club. Casemiro's signing has been completed and he will bolster the midfield, but Cristiano Ronaldo could still leave after being left on the bench against Liverpool.
These are the latest headlines from the red half of Manchester.
Ten Hag's motivation
Ten Hag fired up his Manchester United players to beat arch-rivals Liverpool by using external criticism to motivate them.
United were written off by pundits after losing their first two Premier League games under the Dutchman, including a 4-0 humiliation at Brentford. But they stunned Jurgen Klopp's side 2-1 at Old Trafford on Monday with a performance that suggested Ten Hag can turn their fortunes around and lead them back to success.
It has emerged the United coach used criticism of his players and damning statistics from their opening two defeats to get them in the right frame of mind to beat Liverpool. A United source revealed Ten Hag printed off withering quotes from pundits and stuck them up at the Red Devils' training ground complex and in the dressing room.
Maguire's selection issue
Harry Maguire faces being frozen out long-term at United after being ruthlessly axed by Ten Hag.
The United skipper was benched by Ten Hag for Monday's 2-1 win and fears he could now be a permanent fixture on the bench. It is understood Maguire was told as early as last Thursday he would not start against Liverpool, with Ten Hag preferring Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez in central defence.
Ten Hag said he decided to ditch Maguire because he wanted more mobility and speed in his back-four, with victory over the Reds side vindicating his decision as the centre-half continues to be linked with a surprise move to Chelsea ahead of this winter's World Cup.
United's hard yards
Ten Hag proved to his United players that they aren’t the only ones expected to do the hard yards - by joining them on the infamous punishment run that followed their humiliation at Brentford.
Ten Hag infuriated his squad by cancelling their day off and ordering them to report for duty at the club’s Carrington training base just 24 hours after the chastening 4-0 defeat. After being told that his players had run 13.8km less than their Brentford counterparts, the angry Dutchman instructed them all to run that distance in scorching 33-degree temperatures.
But he then showed international stars like Cristiano Ronaldo and Bruno Fernandes that he was also prepared to shoulder some of the blame for the Gtech Community Stadium calamity by matching them step for step over the full 8.5-mile distance. Ten Hag was said to have been left physically shattered by the experience - but his pain made a deep impression on his players.
