EPL

Manchester United 2-1 Liverpool: Sancho and Rashford give Ten Hag era lift-off

By Sports Desk August 22, 2022

Manchester United earned a deserved 2-1 victory over Liverpool at Old Trafford to kickstart the Erik ten Hag era and leave their rivals winless after three Premier League games.

Ten Hag elected to drop Cristiano Ronaldo and Harry Maguire following successive losses to begin the campaign, a decision that was rewarded by a much-improved display.

An incisive move culminated in Sancho calmly slotting past Alisson after 16 minutes as Liverpool conceded first in a club-record seventh consecutive Premier League game.

Marcus Rashford's goal early in the second half gave United breathing space prior to Mohamed Salah's header nine minutes from time, which proved a mere consolation.

The hosts' first-half display was in complete contrast to their 4-0 loss at Brentford, with Anthony Elanga – preferred to Ronaldo – striking the post early on with just Alisson to beat.

United were ahead soon after when Sancho collected Elanga's pass, fooled James Milner and Alisson with a dummy and found the bottom-left corner from the first shot on target.

Liverpool struggled to get going but nearly levelled before half-time in bizarre circumstances as Bruno Fernandes miscued a clearance against Lisandro Martinez on the goal-line.

With Old Trafford rocking, despite threats of a walk out in protest at the club's owners, half-time substitute Anthony Martial played in Rashford on the counter for United's second.

Rashford was denied another by a good Alisson save, while David de Gea kept out Luis Diaz and Roberto Firmino before Salah's nodded in after United failed to deal with a corner.

Despite some late pressure from Liverpool, the home side – perhaps fortunate not to see Fernandes sent off following a kerfuffle after Salah's goal – held on for a massive victory.

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    Claudia Pina and Alexia Putellas were also on target as Barcelona continued their perfect start to the season, extending their lead at the top of the table.

    The visitors dominated from the off, as Guijarro broke the deadlock inside the fourth minute, tapping in from Putellas' flick-on from a corner.

    Cata Coll was forced into a big save to deny Alba Redondo an equaliser shortly after, but Madrid's hope was soon dented as Guijarro picked out the bottom corner with a superb long-range strike for her second.

    Pina strengthened their lead six minutes before the break, clinically slotting past Misa with her low strike.

    Putellas added some more gloss to the scoreline with four minutes remaining of normal time, beating the Madrid keeper with a lovely dink to bring up her 199th goal for the club.

    Barcelona have won all 10 of their games, and now sit eight points clear of Madrid, who suffered their first league defeat of the campaign. 

    Data Debrief: Total dominance

    Madrid will have felt fairly confident coming into this game after a strong start to their season, but they once again failed to find a way past their Clasico rival.

    Los Blancos have lost every single game they have played against Barcelona in all competitions, with this their 15th such meeting.

    Barcelona smothered their attack early on, restricting their hosts to just one shot in the first half, while they had 10. 

  • Amorim wants Man Utd players to be inspired by club's history Amorim wants Man Utd players to be inspired by club's history

    Ruben Amorim wants his Manchester United players to be inspired by the club's history as he bids to bring a winning mentality back to Old Trafford. 

    Amorim, taking over at the Premier League club following the departure of Erik ten Hag, was speaking in his first interview with the club after a tour of their home venue. 

    The Portuguese tactician had visited Old Trafford earlier in the week and met a group of supporters, as well as the women's team's vice-captain, England star Ella Toone.

    "When you come [to Old Trafford], it's so different. You see the trophies, you see the tragedy that we have as a club. The history," said Amorim. 

    The 39-year-old added the manner in which the club defied the odds to succeed under Matt Busby after the Munich air disaster in 1958 should be a particular source of inspiration.

    "This kind of strength, I think it's important to put in our team. When the players come here, they should take the stadium tour all the time. I think this is very important to do," Amorim said. 

     

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  • New Man Utd boss Amorim says he must win to be afforded time New Man Utd boss Amorim says he must win to be afforded time

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    The Portuguese tactician, who left Sporting CP to become Erik ten Hag’s successor at Old Trafford, was speaking during his first interview with the Premier League club. 

    "We know that we need time, but we have to win time. To win time is to win games. But the most important thing for me is identity. So since day one we will start with our identity," the 39-year-old said. 

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