Match ends, Manchester United 2, Liverpool 1.
Manchester United produced an outstanding display to defeat Liverpool and give manager Erik ten Hag his first Premier League victory at a thunderous Old Trafford.
Ten Hag took the bold decision to drop captain Harry Maguire and Cristiano Ronaldo and was rewarded with a performance that lifted the mood of crisis around Manchester United and leave Liverpool still searching for a first win of the season.
Jadon Sancho showed superb control and composure to deservedly put United in front after 16 minutes before Marcus Rashford raced clear to beat Alisson from substitute Anthony Martial's pass eight minutes after the interval.
Mo Salah set up a tense finish when he scrambled in a header with nine minutes left but United survived to give Ten Hag just the sort of triumph he needs to make his mark at Old Trafford.
Man Utd rise to the occasion
Manchester United were at their lowest ebb after a 4-0 humiliation at Brentford followed an opening day home defeat by Brighton.
And while thousands protested against the ownership of the Glazers before kick-off and the chants continued throughout the game, United's fans rallied behind a performance of fierce intensity and commitment that left Liverpool bullied for long periods.
New £60m signing Casemiro was paraded in front of the Stretford End before kick-off and how he must have relished the magnificent atmosphere inside Old Trafford as United turned the misery of their abject first two league performances on its head.
Liverpool won 5-0 here last season and 4-0 at Anfield but United mustered more energy and aggression in the first 10 minutes here than in both of those embarrassing performances.
Ten Hag employed pace to take advantage of Liverpool's high defensive line and they should have been ahead even before Sancho opened the scoring, Anthony Elanga hitting the post after racing clear.
United contested every challenge with a fired up Lisandro Martinez setting the tone early on with a robust challenge on Mohamed Salah.
Rashford's form has been indifferent in recent times but his confidence will surely soar after the composed manner in which he scored what eventually proved to be the winner.
And this was a landmark night for Ten Hag, who knew his decision to leave out Maguire and Ronaldo would have brought scrutiny had United lost.
Instead, he enjoyed the sort of night that he will hope gets his Old Trafford reign up and running.
Mediocre Liverpool fall short
Liverpool's disappointing start to the season continued as they found themselves over-run from the kick-off by an inspired Manchester United.
Jurgen Klopp's side have injury problems and Darwin Nunez's moment of madness that resulted in a red card against Crystal Palace deprived Liverpool of the height in attack that might have exploited Martinez's lack of stature but they got exactly what they deserved here - nothing.
Klopp's decision to omit Fabinho was mystifying, even more so when James Milner and Jordan Henderson were left off the pace as United rattled into challenges and contested every ball with a fierce competitive edge.
Liverpool were also vulnerable at the back, with Virgil van Dijk's poor start to the season continuing, especially with a passive piece of defending for Sancho's goal.
Klopp will not be panicking and Liverpool have too much quality to struggle for long but two points from their first three league games is a bitterly disappointing return and it is hard to make a case that they deserved anything more.
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Player of the match
Li MartínezLisandro Martínez
Manchester United
Avg
- Squad number6Player nameLi MartínezAverage rating
8.15
- Squad number12Player nameMalaciaAverage rating
8.14
- Squad number10Player nameRashfordAverage rating
7.74
- Squad number25Player nameSanchoAverage rating
7.66
- Squad number19Player nameVaraneAverage rating
7.62
- Squad number14Player nameEriksenAverage rating
7.11
- Squad number9Player nameMartialAverage rating
7.09
- Squad number20Player nameDiogo DalotAverage rating
7.05
- Squad number1Player namede GeaAverage rating
7.05
- Squad number8Player nameBruno FernandesAverage rating
6.88
- Squad number36Player nameElangaAverage rating
6.86
- Squad number39Player nameMcTominayAverage rating
6.61
- Squad number34Player namevan de BeekAverage rating
6.05
- Squad number17Player nameFredAverage rating
5.91
- Squad number29Player nameWan-BissakaAverage rating
5.71
- Squad number7Player nameCristiano RonaldoAverage rating
5.44
Liverpool
Avg
- Squad number11Player nameMohamed SalahAverage rating
5.09
- Squad number19Player nameElliottAverage rating
4.89
- Squad number1Player nameAlissonAverage rating
4.88
- Squad number23Player nameDíazAverage rating
4.86
- Squad number28Player nameFábio CarvalhoAverage rating
4.74
- Squad number26Player nameRobertsonAverage rating
4.53
- Squad number3Player nameFabinhoAverage rating
4.45
- Squad number14Player nameHendersonAverage rating
4.12
- Squad number7Player nameMilnerAverage rating
4.02
- Squad number2Player nameGomezAverage rating
4.01
- Squad number9Player nameRoberto FirminoAverage rating
4.00
- Squad number21Player nameTsimikasAverage rating
3.96
- Squad number4Player namevan DijkAverage rating
3.90
- Squad number66Player nameAlexander-ArnoldAverage rating
3.72
Line-ups
Man Utd
Formation 4-2-3-1
- 1de Gea
- 20DalotBooked at 45minsSubstituted forWan-Bissakaat 86'minutes
- 19VaraneBooked at 27mins
- 6Li Martínez
- 12Malacia
- 39McTominay
- 14EriksenSubstituted forvan de Beekat 86'minutes
- 25SanchoSubstituted forFredat 71'minutes
- 8Bruno FernandesBooked at 74mins
- 36ElangaSubstituted forMartialat 45'minutes
- 10RashfordSubstituted forCristiano Ronaldoat 86'minutes
Substitutes
- 5Maguire
- 7Cristiano Ronaldo
- 9Martial
- 17Fred
- 22Heaton
- 23Shaw
- 29Wan-Bissaka
- 34van de Beek
- 49Garnacho
Liverpool
Formation 4-3-3
- 1Alisson
- 66Alexander-ArnoldBooked at 24mins
- 2Gomez
- 4van Dijk
- 26RobertsonSubstituted forTsimikasat 85'minutes
- 19Elliott
- 14HendersonSubstituted forFabinhoat 59'minutes
- 7MilnerSubstituted forCarvalhoat 73'minutes
- 11Salah
- 9Firmino
- 23Díaz
Substitutes
- 3Fabinho
- 13Adrián
- 21Tsimikas
- 28Carvalho
- 42Clark
- 43Bajcetic
- 47Phillips
- 72van den Berg
- 95Davies
- Referee:
- Michael Oliver
Match Stats
- Possession
- Home29%
- Away71%
- Shots
- Home13
- Away17
- Shots on Target
- Home5
- Away5
- Corners
- Home6
- Away8
- Fouls
- Home11
- Away7
Live Text
Post update
Full Time
Second Half ends, Manchester United 2, Liverpool 1.
Post update
Foul by Luis Díaz (Liverpool).
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Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Corner, Manchester United. Conceded by Kostas Tsimikas.
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Foul by Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool).
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Anthony Martial (Manchester United) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Fabinho (Liverpool) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
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Foul by Donny van de Beek (Manchester United).
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Fabinho (Liverpool) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Foul by Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United).
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Harvey Elliott (Liverpool) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Foul by Tyrell Malacia (Manchester United).
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Attempt missed. Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United) left footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the left. Assisted by Anthony Martial.
Substitution
Substitution, Manchester United. Donny van de Beek replaces Christian Eriksen.
Substitution
Substitution, Manchester United. Cristiano Ronaldo replaces Marcus Rashford.
Substitution
Substitution, Manchester United. Aaron Wan-Bissaka replaces Diogo Dalot.
Substitution
Substitution, Liverpool. Kostas Tsimikas replaces Andrew Robertson.
Post update
Attempt missed. Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the left. Assisted by Mohamed Salah following a corner.
Post update
Corner, Liverpool. Conceded by Tyrell Malacia.
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Comments
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What a pundit! Shame on you BBC.
Normal service will resume on the weekend.
Southgate: take a note of who was instrumental by NOT playing.
Well played Manchester United..
Lol
Well done ManU, at least your players fought for the club.
Well done United, totally outrun, outclassed and dominated Liverpool.