Manchester United on Monday produced an unexpected 2-1 victory over old rivals Liverpool in the Premier League at Old Trafford to turn fan protests against the club’s owners into a rare night of celebration.
United’s vastly improved performance for their first points of the campaign, thanks to goals from Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford, left Juergen Klopp’s Liverpool without a victory from their opening three games and with just two points.
It was the first win for United’s Dutch manager Erik ten Hag who was rewarded for his decision to leave Cristiano Ronaldo and club captain Harry Maguire on the bench.
Photo: EPA-EFE
“I am happy with the performance, but we have to bring it every game,” Ten Hag said. “Don’t just bring it against Liverpool. Every Premier League game is difficult. We need to bring it to every game. It starts, once again, with the spirit.”
In the aftermath of last week’s humiliating 4-0 loss at Brentford, it has been a week of major question marks over the club’s owners, the Florida-based Glazer family, and some fans marched to the ground in protest.
Supporters chanted: “we want Glazers out” and held banners calling for the Americans to sell United, as they walked from a nearby pub to Old Trafford during the hour before kickoff.
Many supporters around the ground were wearing green-and-gold scarves — the colors of the club’s 1878 formation — and some also set off flares. There appeared to be a robust police presence on Sir Matt Busby Way at the entrance to the stadium forecourt.
The target of the majority of the anger is the Glazer family, which bought United in 2005 with a leveraged takeover that loaded debt onto a club which previously did not have any.
Critics say the Glazers, who also own the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers, have failed to invest enough of their own cash in the squad or facilities and have presided over years of failure by England’s biggest team.
“They are ruining the history, traditions and culture of our great club and [we] will not stand by and watch our club rot away any longer,” said The 1958, a fans’ group that arranged the protest.
United’s transfer failings have also been criticized, but before the match started their new arrival from Real Madrid, Casemiro, was unveiled to the fans, although the welcoming applause threatened to be drowned out by anti-Glazer chants.
That strange juxtaposition of support and protest remained throughout the game, but United’s display, their best in more than a year, defined the night.
Sancho put the hosts ahead in the 16th minute, showing great composure as he collected a pull-back from Anthony Elanga, left James Milner on his backside and then slotted the ball into the bottom corner.
Christian Eriksen was denied a second for Ten Hag’s side with a curling free-kick, which Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson Becker touched away from the top corner, but United extended their lead after the break.
A mistake by Jordan Henderson allowed substitute Anthony Martial to send Rashford clear and the England forward kept his cool to slot past Alisson in the 53rd minute for his first league goal since January.
Henderson was part of a weakened midfield with James Milner and Harvey Elliott but Liverpool were below par all over the field.
They did however pull a goal back in the 81st minute when Fabio Carvalho’s shot was parried by David De Gea only for Mohamed Salah to react quickly and nod in the loose ball.
There was plenty for Ten Hag to be encouraged by, particularly Rashford’s return to scoring and form, but he would surely be delighted with the positive performances of two of his new signings.
Additional reporting by AP
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