Manchester United notably leapfrogged ahead of Liverpool on the English Premier League standings as they pulled off a stunning win at Old Trafford on Monday.
United had been dwelling at rock bottom after suffering two defeats at the start of the new season, but claimed a much-needed and fully-deserved 2-1 victory over embattled Liverpool.
SOUTHAMPTON vs MANCHESTER UNITED
It’s still early days, but the Red Devils have now shifted to 14th on the standings, while Liverpool have plenty of catching up to do after plunging to 16th after their winless start to the campaign.
Here we take a look at three takeaways from the United-Liverpool battle on Monday.
United rediscover winning “attitude”
Erik ten Hag had become the first United manager to lose his opening two games for more than a century as defeats to Brighton and Brentford led to some outlets quickly betting that he had a 65% chance of leaving the club before Christmas.
He responded with a bold call of dropping Cristiano Ronaldo and club captain Harry Maguire, which followed on from his “military” tactics of bringing the players in on a planned day off to run 13.8 kilometres after the 4-0 defeat to Brentford.
United started the clash against Liverpool with intensity, aggression and fluency, while most importantly maintaining enough control in the second half to stave off a Liverpool fight back.
“We can talk about tactics but it is all about attitude,” said Ten Hag. “I am happy with the performance but we have to bring it every game. Don’t just bring it against Liverpool. Every Premier League game is difficult, we need to bring it to every game. It starts, once again, with the spirit.”
Liverpool left floundering
This is already the worst start to a league season in a decade for Liverpool, and they are suddenly trailing early leaders Arsenal by seven log points.
Liverpool’s problems run deep, with an injury crisis ruling out the likes of Thiago Alcantara, Naby Keita, and Diogo Jota, while superstar signing Darwin Nunez has just started serving the first of his three-game ban.
The Reds clearly have issues with their midfield composition currently, Virgil van Dijk looks out of form, while the loss of Sadio Mane to Bayern Munich is hitting hard at the same time as Roberto Firmino is misfiring.
To make matters worse, Liverpool have now conceded first in their last seven Premier League games stretching back to the end of last season.
Rashford finds his spark
The vibrant display from Marcus Rashford played a key part in powering the Red Devils to victory. The 24-year-old was an inspired performer with five shots as a central striker instead of his usual left wing position.
Restoring Rashford’s confidence has been one of the key tasks for Ten Hag, and these were highly encouraging signs, with only a fine save from Alisson low to his left preventing the playmaker from claiming his second goal and United’s third.
“For me it is about my mentality,” said Rashford. “When I am happy and feel happy I will play well, score goals and help the team.”