By Sulaimon Jamiu
Manchester United bounced back from their poor start to the campaign of two consecutive Premier League defeats, with an excellent 2-1 victory against archrival, Liverpool, at Old Trafford.
Erik ten Hag received a huge reaction from his side after making four changes to the XI that started the defeat to Brentford last weekend.
Goals from Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford in each half were enough to seal the win despite Mohamed Salah’s late header for the visitors.
Jadon Sancho opened the scoring for United in the first half, as The Reds were on the front foot from the kickoff, making their presence known at the back with Lisandro Martinez at the heart of the defence.
United showed a statement of intent early on, as Rashford was played in behind the Liverpool backline and almost got a shot away but Virgil van Dijk intervened.
Anthony Elanga came close to opening the scoring inside 10 minutes, from a delightful through ball from Scott McTominay that found Bruno Fernandes, who stretched to play in Elanga but the post denied him a goal.
The fans inside Old Trafford would only have to wait a further five minutes to see the Red Devils go ahead, though. Slick and fluid football from ten Hag’s side saw Elanga play the ball across the Liverpool area to find Sancho, and despite being faced with multiple defenders, Sancho showed great composure to deceive James Milner and finish beyond Alisson to fire the reds ahead.
Luis Diaz came close to levelling up the scoreline, but his effort strayed wide off David De Gea’s goal following some good defensive pressure on the Colombian.
Moments later, Christian Eriksen almost doubled United’s lead directly from a free-kick. Alisson, at full stretch, managed to tip it over for a home corner which, ultimately, amounted to nothing.
Despite relentless attacking from the opposition, United’s backline – especially Raphael Varane and Martinez – combined well to keep them at bay. Martinez cleared Fernandes’s deflection off the line just moments before the half-time whistle, which could have lead to an own goal.
The home side quickly turned the tide in the second 45 minutes, applying more pressure on the opponents before it eventually paid off. The ball fell to half-time substitute, Anthony Martial, who put Rashford through. The England international kept his calm going one-on-one against Alisson to bury the ball into the back of the net.
Liverpool pulled a goal back late on, as De Gea parried substitute Fabio Carvalho’s effort into the path of Mo Salah who squeezed in a header to set the game up for a nervy finish.
However, United expertly saw out five minutes of stoppage time and arguably looked likelier to add to the scoring as the final whistle was greeted with huge celebrations inside the ground.
Manchester United is now above Liverpool on the league standings, as they moved from 19th to 14th place.
