Manchester United faced off with bitter rivals Liverpool on Monday evening in a tie they were very much expected to lose due to their displays in the two games prior.
However, Manchester United were much improved. Ten Hag found a temporary solution to David de Gea’s early-season woes, simply having the Spaniard take all of his goal-kicks long.
Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez, meanwhile, made a very strong claim to become United’s no.1 centre-back pairing.
And at left-back, Tyrell Malacia enjoyed a superb first start for the Red Devils:
Tyrell Malacia’s first half by numbers vs. Liverpool:
100% long balls completed
93% pass accuracy
41 touches
6 ground duels won
8 tackles
3 ball recoveries
3 clearances
2 crosses
1 interceptionUnbelievable performance. 💪 pic.twitter.com/Chlii7Tfa1
— Statman Dave (@StatmanDave) August 22, 2022
Following the Liverpool game, Ten Hag was keen to highlight the potential of Malacia, as well as Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho, both of whom scored vs Liverpool.
“I believe in his potential,” Ten Hag said of Malacia. “Such games will give him belief. But I think it counts for the whole team.
“I think we have players who have a lot of room for improvement and the team also has a lot of room for improvement. I hope today is a base and from here on we will improve.”
