Manchester United Leapfrog Liverpool In EPL Table After Erik Ten Hag Claims First Win
Erik ten Hag recorded his first Premier League win as Manchester United manager on Monday as his team beat fierce rivals Liverpool at a boisterous Old Trafford.
Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford scored either side of half-time to inspire United to a deserved 2-1 victory that saw them leapfrog Liverpool in the EPL table.
Mo Salah scored a late consolation goal for Liverpool, who are now seven points behind leaders Arsenal after failing to win any of their first three matches this season.
Ten Hag made two big calls before kick-off when he left Cristiano Ronaldo and captain Harry Maguire on the bench.
Anthony Elanga started in Ronaldo’s place and the young Sweden forward almost justified his selection on 10 minutes when he latched onto Bruno Fernandes pass, only to fire his low effort onto the post.
United’s breakthrough arrived six minutes later when Sancho displayed some superb footwork before finishing off a fine team move.
Liverpool looked impotent in attack but they were almost gifted a route back into the game via a Fernandes own goal just before half-time.
Fernandes awkwardly hacked at the ball inside his own six-yard box, sending it flying goalwards before it was blocked on the line by Lisandro Martinez.
Despite that nervy moment, United were good value for their lead and they doubled it eight minutes into the second half.
Anthony Martial, who had come on as a half-time substitute for Elanga, slid the ball through to Rashford and he netted his fifth EPL goal against Liverpool.
Salah set up a grandstand finish when he headed in from a rebound 10 minutes from the end after Fabio Carvalho had seen his shot parried by David de Gea.
It was a record-breaking goal for Salah, who has now scored more goals for Liverpool against United than any other player.
It failed to inspire Liverpool to find an equalizer though as United held firm to take the three points that their performance had deserved.
Source: Futbol.si
