Here’s five things Erik Ten Hag got wrong as Man United are humiliated by Liverpool in their clash

Erik ten Hag’s Manchester United team was ruthlessly defeated 3-0 by Liverpool, led by Arne Slot, in the Premier League, resulting in back-to-back losses.
Arne Slot’s Liverpool defeated Erik ten Hag’s Manchester United team 3-0 in the Dutch coach’s challenge.

The Reds were two goals up at the interval, thanks to a first-half double from Luis Diaz. In the 56th minute, Mohamed Salah added a third goal, and the Red Devils began to crumble. United made a minor improvement in the match, but they were unable to generate any form of comeback.

After suffering a shock 2-1 loss to Brighton in their previous match and defeating Fulham by a single goal in their home opener, Ten Hag’s team has only managed to accumulate three points from their first three league games.

Believing in Casemiro

The 32-year-old Brazilian was unable to maintain pace with the fast-paced Premier League last season, and their concerns were confirmed during the match against Liverpool.

Casemiro was directly responsible for Diaz’s initial goal, as he brazenly conceded possession of the ball in the centre of the pitch to Ryan Gravenberch. Gravenberch then passed the ball to Salah, who fired it wide before the Colombian converted a floated cross.

Diaz dislodged the ball from beneath the holding midfielder’s feet, resulting in his capture. Salah once more slid the ball across, and the initial goal scorer was present to score his second. Casemiro was awarded the ball during halftime in honour of Toby Collyer, a juvenile player.

Manuel Ugarte was acquired on the deadline day; however, he was signed too late to be included in this match. It is probable that he would have initiated the process had he been accessible.

Nevertheless, Ten Hag could have opted to modify the situation and potentially employ Kobbie Mianoo in the position rather than exposing the Brazilian.

This ultimately resulted in the loss of the match, as it was improbable that they would be able to recuperate in any capacity from the first-half pounding given the state of their strike force.

Starting  Rashford

Despite the fact that Marcus Rashford continues to be a critical player for United, the current approach of starting him is not yielding the desired results. It may be time to contemplate his removal from the starting lineup.

He was unable to register a single shot and only managed four passes in the Reds’ box. Rashford’s lack of attacking intent was evident, despite the disappointment of the majority of his teammates.

Rashford is expected to be one of the more prominent players on the wings at Old Trafford this season, as Jadon Sancho has departed for Chelsea. However, it may be necessary to temporarily withdraw him and send a message.

Diallo being dropped.

Diallo was introduced in the 69th minute, and unlike the wingers who began to sluggish, he appeared sprightly and persistently harassed the left side of Liverpool’s defence.

Last season, he scored the infamous late winner in the FA Cup against this opposition, a competition they went on to win, and notched the leveller in the 2-1 defeat to Brighton while looking bright.

Although it appears that Ten Hag believed that Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho would cause the Reds problems, it could be argued that he would have been better off starting Diallo.

Midfield deficiencies

United’s midfield was circumvented with alarming ease, despite the presence of Casemiro. Starlet Mainoo has demonstrated his ability to be sophisticated; however, his performance was relatively subpar and disappointing when it mattered.

Bruno Fernandes has yet to contribute to a goal this season and exhibited another subpar performance during the match.

Although Ten Hag is somewhat limited in terms of options, it may have been more effective to either switch players or give another midfielder an opportunity, thereby preventing the goals from being scored.

Failure to bring in a quality nine

Joshua Zirkzee scored the winning goal for the club in the 1-0 victory over Fulham in the opening match. However, he was unable to make a significant impression in the 2-1 loss the following week.

The new £36.5million Dutchman was trusted by Ten Hag to lead his line against Liverpool. However, when United began to recover possession of the ball following their old rivals’ third goal, Zirkzee missed opportunity after opportunity.

The club should have likely felt a sense of urgency to bring in a true striker when it was revealed that Rasmus Hojlund would be absent for a significant portion of the season. Their new Dutch recruit is not exactly the type of player they were looking for and can also be used as a winger.

Although they may not have emerged victorious against Slot’s team, they could have at least scored a goal and avoided the level of embarrassment they experienced.