If the low points for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ralf Rangnick last season may have come in harrowing hammerings against Liverpool, Erik ten Hag at least marked a break with the recent past on his bow as Manchester United manager. Solskjaer lost 5-0 and Rangnick 4-0 and, in the context of that, United could savour a scoreline that brought a 4-0 win, even if a pre-season friendly scarcely carries the same weight. Liverpool finished 34 points ahead of United last season, and in a game when Jurgen Klopp fielded 32 players and Ten Hag’s first-half side was a plausible starting 11 for the opening day, these were two clubs at different stages of planning.
Nevertheless, United’s first look at Ten Hag’s ideas offered some encouragement. There was a restorative element for a bright, quick front three, who looked lively in the absence of Cristiano Ronaldo. Jadon Sancho scored the first unofficial goal of Ten Hag’s reign and Anthony Martial added a sleek strike that offered a reminder of his speed. Marcus Rashford was wasteful when a couple of chances presented themselves but showed his sharpness to hint at a revival after his form collapsed last season. Given the versatility of many a United forward, perhaps it was instructive that Rashford started on the left, Sancho on the right and Martial in the middle, in a role that may revert to Ronaldo.
Ten Hag did not use the quintessential Ajax 4-3-3 system, but a 4-2-3-1, which he had also deployed at times in Amsterdam. It meant Bruno Fernandes, who captained United in a game Harry Maguire sat out, was reinstalled as the No 10; it was more Solskjaer’s system than Rangnick’s, with the Portuguese sometimes deployed as a No 8 in a 4-3-3 last season or as a wide 10 in the German’s unsuccessful attempts to import a 4-2-2-2 formation.
There were glimpses of the cohesion coaching has brought. United pressed well at times – though whether they could with Ronaldo is another matter – and broke with pace and intent. Their goals stemmed from getting forward quickly, even if the first three owed something to an inexperienced Liverpool defence. The first two came when they failed to clear, the third when Rhys Williams was dispossessed by Martial.
Nevertheless, the finishing offered indications of ability. Sancho began on the right but popped up on the left to steer in a shot. Fred chipped Alisson delightfully: if the Brazilian, a rare beneficiary of Rangnick’s regime, could lose his place if either or both of Christian Eriksen and Frenkie de Jong sign, it was a sign a workhorse can offer craft as well as graft.
Martial has returned from loan at Sevilla. His 2021-22 campaign only produced one official goal for United. His pre-season was brought as many, the Frenchman lifting the ball over Alisson with a deft finish. That devastating speed on the break offered echoes of the best of Solskjaer’s reign but it came against a barely recognisable team. While Ten Hag began with arguably his strongest available side, Klopp mixed, matched and ended with what looked a more familiar line-up.
He swapped all 10 outfield players after half an hour and then again after 60 minutes and finished with his Champions League final back four plus Fabinho, Mohamed Salah and the summer signing Darwin Nunez. That rearguard of Trent Alexander-Arnold, Ibrahima Konate, Virgil van Dijk and Andy Robertson was nevertheless breached by a clinical counter-attack, begun by Eric Bailly and completed by Facundo Pellestri after a one-two with Amad Diallo.
Yet while United conceded nine times to Liverpool last season and none in a pre-season reunion, there were indications the defensive difficulties that were all too evident when they let in 57 league goals last season are not necessarily consigned to the past. David de Gea was overworked again and made a series of saves. Liverpool hit the woodwork three times: through the newcomer Fabio Carvalho and Luis Diaz, who troubled Diogo Dalot in a manner to explain why Ten Hag may want a right-back, and then Salah in the final minutes. The rebound fell to Darwin Nunez and he ballooned it over: the Uruguayan is a United target and it would have been in keeping with their fortunes last season if a player they had wanted had scored against them.
He faced Ten Hag’s second-string side: the Dutchman may have made it easy to guess players’ places in his pecking order. He made 10 changes at half-time. With Tyrell Malacia making his debut, it was notable Alex Telles operated in the centre of defence, suggesting he is now the third-choice left-back. But Bailly excelled alongside him. As a new era started at Old Trafford, it was another clue there could be new beginnings for some of those who have regressed of late.
