Man Utd make winning start under Erik ten Hag with Liverpool demolition

New Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag got off to a winning start in the dugout with a comprehensive three-goal win over Liverpool in Bangkok.

First half goals from Jadon Sancho, Fred and Anthony Martial before substitute Facundo Pellestri added a fourth after the break propelled United to victory over an experimental Liverpool side, who twice made wholesale changes to their line-up. A much-more experienced Red Devils outfit dominated the first half but they too made ten outfield changes in the second half.

Jurgen Klopp introduced Mohamed Salah, Andy Robertson, Virgil van Dijk, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Fabinho and Darwin Nunez for the final thirty minutes against a much-changed United side but they could not make a breakthrough as Pellestri added a fourth goal on the counter-attack in the 75 ^th minute.

With both sides intent on avoiding injuries, Ten Hag may have a small concern over David de Gea’s fitness after the Spaniard had to be substituted off with muscular discomfort in the second half.

Here are five talking points as United won the pre-season Bangkok Centenary Cup against their rivals.

Ten Hag reverts to Solskjaer outline

United’s first game under their new boss saw them line up in a 4-2-3-1 formation, similar to the setup Ten Hag relied upon at Ajax. This was also the system that was most commonly in-place during Ole Gunnar Solskjaer ’s time in the United dugout, but it was not just the shape that was the same as under Norwegian.

adon Sancho playing on the right of attack – where he thrived for Borussia Dortmund – rather than on the left, as was commonly seen under Ralf Rangnick, was notable, with Marcus Rashford on the left and Bruno Fernandes adapting the deeper role behind central striker Anthony Martial.

This, in addition to the midfield base of Scott McTominay and Fred, was the general outline of a system under Solskjaer prior to the arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo which offset the team’s balance.