When Manchester United's Twitter account revealed Erik ten Hag's starting line-up an hour before the start of Monday evening's 2-1 victory over Liverpool, it is fair to say that it carried one or two surprises.
Although changes were guaranteed after the 4-0 hammering at the hands of Brentford at the Gtech Community Stadium nine days earlier, it was always going to be intriguing to see who would be tasked with trying to help United become the first club to beat Liverpool in the Premier League in 2022. The omission of Cristiano Ronaldo was the most eye-catching decision, as he, surely, was the best option to help United try and score their first goal of the season via one of their own players.
Regardless of what is happening in relation to his future at United, he remains their most reliable source of goals. He scored 24 times last season in a campaign that saw United finish a disappointing sixth in the Premier League table. Anthony Elanga was preferred in attack, forcing Marcus Rashford to move inside.
