Manchester United wrote and followed the perfect script when getting down to business for the first time under Erik ten Hag and did so without headline act, Cristiano Ronaldo, in his ongoing absence from the touring party.
Given his immense stature, Ronaldo was always going to take centre stage even when he opted against flying out to Bangkok with his teammates. But for 90 minutes at least against Liverpool, the saga was forgotten and United provided a glimpse of what life after Ronaldo (part two) might look like.
Jadon Sancho, Fred, Anthony Martial and Facundo Pellistri grabbed the goals against Jurgen Klopp's side in Thailand and you would be hard-pressed to settle on which of those four players most needed that confidence booster. A few more, including Marcus Rashford, would have also snapped your hand off to have found the net themselves.
