'It is not like I’m Harry Potter' - Ten Hag insists United will improve after humbling to Liverpool
DOUBLE DUTCH: Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag applauds the fans after defeat to his compatriot Arne Slot and Liverpool. Pic: Nick Potts/PA Wire.
For all that we remain in the foothills of this new season Old Trafford yesterday was always likely to provide the clearest indicator yet of the size of the task facing Erik ten Hag and Arne Slot as they seek to return two giants to the top of the English game.
On the evidence presented here it is Ten Hag who is facing a significantly longer climb ahead after a ragged and disorganised performance settled as much by his own side’s blunders – two from Casemiro and another from Kobbie Mainoo – as some clinical punishment from Liverpool’s front line.
Luis Diaz, with two first-half goals, and Mohamed Salah with one early in the second provided the cutting edge to lift them level with Manchester City at the top of the table, pouncing on mistakes from United who finished with a 20-year-old academy prospect in Toby Collyer being run ragged in Casemiro’s place.
United may point to two efforts which required saves from Alisson and some missed chances late on for home debutant Joshua Zirkzee, but the feeling of a Liverpool coasting home with the top down and very much in second gear was hard to escape.
For all Manchester United’s summer spending and Liverpool’s tight-fisted dealings which saw just Federico Chiesa, added to this season’s roster for £10million (€11.8m), the gap between these two sides – 29 points and five places last May – could well have grown in the summer.
Indeed Chiesa, watching from the stands, might well wonder where he is going to fit in to a front six who were faster, stronger, more composed and organised than both United here and, more importantly, Liverpool last season.
In Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis MacAllister, Luis Diaz and Salah, Liverpool had the game’s four best players and probably another two of the top half dozen. United looked sluggish and disjointed and comfortably contained the four worst, mistakes pounced on and punished and boos already in earshot at full time.
Before the match United had paraded new midfield enforcer Manuel Ugarte on the pitch. He swallowed £42million of United’s £200m summer splurge and has been bought to replace Casemiro’s ageing legs in the middle.
How Ten Hag must have wished the transfer had been pushed through last week after a first half horror show from the Brazilian. How the United manager must have wished he could have turned to to see Scott McTominay, recently of this parish but sold to Napoli this week, on the bench behind him.
The summer has clearly quickened Casemiro’s decline. Liverpool had a goal disallowed after six minutes for offside, pounced on his two blunders. His first to pick out Gravenberch with a pass in the midfield and the second nudged all too easily off the ball by Diaz. Both led to goals on 34 and 42 minutes respectively.
When a third arrived in similarly calamitous fashion 11 minutes into the second period, Kobbie Mainoo dispossessed by Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai and Salah finishing it off, the result was cast.
Ten Hag insisted it was too early to condemn United’s efforts despite this being the second defeat of a season just three games old.
“It is just the third game in the season, we have to build a new team, I explained this so many times. We will build it. We have young players and players to build in. We will be fine,” he said.
On Ugarte and whether he might have been brought here earlier in the window he added: “We have to build him in the team, it will take time. It is not like I’m Harry Potter, that is what you have to acknowledge.
“If you see Manuel Ugarte, he didn’t play in the season, not one match minute. We have to build his fitness and then I am sure he will be an important player.”
Read More
Slot, who has now overseen three wins and three clean sheets had much to be pleased about even if he too pointed to it being early in the season to leap to premature judgement.
“Everything what you want to see as a manager you saw in this game,” he said. “There were difficult moments for us, United started really well but then we have disallowed goal and there was no negative reaction. We kept on playing, scoring three, could have scored more. The work rate was incredibly high without the ball and that makes it a very positive day.
“It is a good start but we still have a lot to prove.”
United have much to ponder for all that Ten Hag is right to call for time for his new side to bed in.
If Ugarte is as many as three or four games off being match fit, further damage could be done to the season before it has made it to October.
Yes United had chances for consolation goals Joshua Zirkzee marking an eminently forgettable home debut with two glaring close range misses, but consolation was all that was on offer and they could not even grab that.
What is crystal clear is they need to find some ballast to their midfield fast if they are to keep afloat.
: Onana 5; Mazraoui 6, De Ligt 6 (Maguire 69), Martinez 6, Dalot 7; Casemiro 3 (Collyer 46 5), Mainoo 8; Garnacho 5 (Amad 69), Fernandes 6, Rashford 6; Zirkzee 4 (Eriksen 86)
Subs (not used): Bayandir, Heaton, Antony, Evans, Wheatley
: Alisson 7; Alexander-Arnold 7 (Bradley 75), Konate 6, Van Dijk 6, Robertson 7 (Tsimikas 83), Gravenberch 8, Mac Allister 7; Salah 8, Szoboszlai 8, Diaz 9 (Gakpo 66); Jota 6 (Nunez 75)
Subs (not used): Kelleher, Gomez, Endo, Elliott, Quansah
: Anthony Taylor 8
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
