Erik ten Hag came out second in the battle of Dutch coaches as his Manchester United side were thrashed 3-0 by Arne Slot’s Liverpool.
A first-half Luis Diaz double saw the Reds enter the break two goals to the good, and Mohamed Salah added a third as the Red Devils began to crumble in the 56th minute. United grew into the match slightly but failed to ignite any sort of comeback.
Ten Hag’s side have now mustered just three points from their opening trio of league games after suffering a shock 2-1 loss to Brighton last time out and beating Fulham by just a single goal in their home opener.
Trusting Casemiro
(Image: Shaun Botterill)
Last season, it became apparent that the 32-year-old Brazilian was struggling to keep up with the fast-paced Premier League, and those worries were realised against Liverpool.
Casemiro was directly at fault for Diaz’s first strike, blatantly giving the ball away in the middle of the park to Ryan Gravenberch, who passed to Salah wide before a floated cross was turned home by the Colombian.
The holding midfielder was later caught on the ball as Diaz poked it from under his feet. Salah again swept the ball across, and the first goalscorer was there for his second. Casemiro was hoisted at half-time for youngster Toby Collyer.
What did you make of Casemiro’s performance? Let us know in the comments section
(Image: Michael Regan)
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Manuel Ugarte was signed on deadline day but signed too late to be involved in this fixture. Had he been available, it would’ve been likely that he started
However, Ten Hag could’ve chosen to switch things up and perhaps utilise Kobbie Mianoo in the position instead of letting the Brazilian be exposed.
This ultimately cost them the match as it was unlikely they’d recover in any way from this first-half battering with the shape their strike force is in.
Starting Rashford
(Image: Manchester United via Getty Imag)
As much as Marcus Rashford remains a pivotal player for United, continuing to start him just isn’t working, and it may be time to consider taking him out of the first XI.
He mustered just four touches in the Reds’ box and failed to register a single shot. While most of his team-mates disappointed, Rashford stood out as lacking attacking intent.
With Jadon Sancho having departed for Chelsea, Rashford is certain to be one of the leading names out wide at Old Trafford this season, but the time may have come for him to be temporarily dropped and a message sent.
Dropping Diallo
(Image: Getty Images)
Diallo was introduced in the 69th minute, and unlike that of the wingers who started to slow, Diallo looked lively and pestered the left side of Liverpool’s defence.
He notched the leveller in the 2-1 loss to Brighton while looking bright and scored that infamous late winner in the FA Cup against this opposition last season – a competition they went onto win.
While Ten Hag seemingly believed that Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho would cause the Reds issues, it could be said that he’d have been better off starting Diallo.
Midfield weakness
(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
Casemiro aside, United’s midfield was bypassed far too easily. Starlet Mainoo has shown how classy he can be, but he was disappointing when it counted and had a relatively poor game.
Bruno Fernandes is yet to be involved in a goal this season, and had another cluster performance during the clash.
While Ten Hag is slightly strapped for options, either switching players or giving another midfielder a chance may have better sufficed and stopped the goals from flying in.
Not bringing in a number nine
(Image: Getty Images)
Joshua Zirkzee scored the club’s winner during the opening 1-0 win against Fulham but failed to make much of an impact during the 2-1 defeat the following week.
Ten Hag trusted the new £36.5million Dutchman to lead his line against Liverpool, but when United raised their game and started to get some of the ball following their old rivals’ third goal, Zirkzee missed chance after chance.
When it was announced that Rasmus Hojlund would miss a large chunk of this season, there should probably have been some urgency within the club to get an out-and-out striker through the door, as their new Dutch recruit isn’t exactly that type of player and can also be utilised out wide.
If they had a goal-hungry striker upfront against Slot’s side, though they may not have won, they might have at least notched a goal and not been so severely embarrassed.