Manchester United impressive stats from crucial Liverpool win

• Manchester United won their first 2022/23 Premier League against their bitter rivals Liverpool in a 2-1 competitive game.
• After underwhelming results from Brighton and Brentford United have been on look-out to reinforce their squad with Casemiro arriving from Real Madrid.

The Man United game against Liverpool at Old Trafford was a night to remember as the red devils took the early lead and ensured they bag the three points in a 2-1 victory. Man United hosted Liverpool after two games proved difficult to them, they were humiliated by Brentford and Brighton in their first two games.

Liverpool beat Manchester United last season in two legs and the Old Trafford win cemented further the rivalry.

The Red Devils had entered the 2022-23 season with something approaching optimism under Ten Hag but shambolic defeats against Brighton and Brentford left the club bottom of the league and ramped up the pressure on the former Ajax boss instantly.

Something had to change against arch-rivals Liverpool and Ten Hag rang the changes before the Old Trafford clash. Out went Cristiano Ronaldo, Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw, and Fred, with Antony Elanga, Scott McTominay, Tyrell Malacia, and Raphael Varane replacing them.

And Ten Hag was rewarded with a strong start as United tore into Liverpool. Elanga hit the post before Jadon Sancho scored a composed strike to send the United faithful into raptures.

Jadon Sancho scored the first goal of Man United against Livepool; Photo/Sky Sports

After surviving a scare when Bruno Fernandes almost nudged the ball over his own goal line, Marcus Rashford doubled United’s lead with a clinical finish to leave the Red Devils on the verge of improbable success.

And, despite Mohamed Salah halving the deficit with a late effort, United held on to move out of the Premier League relegation zone and kickstart the Ten Hag era at Old Trafford.

Here is what we loved from the game.

• Jadon Sancho opened the scoring with a composed finish that sent Old Trafford into raptures. It was Sancho’s fourth Premier League goal for United, which also includes strikes against Chelsea and Manchester City. He’s clearly the man for the big occasion.
• Sancho’s performance set the tone for a much-improved United display. He completed two successful dribbles and made one key pass alongside his goal.
•  Lisandro Martinez enjoyed an excellent first-half performance; he completed 100% of his dribbles, and made three ball recoveries, two clearances and one crucial block on the line to prevent Bruno Fernandes from scoring an own goal.
• Marcus Rashford scored for the first time since 22 January against West Ham, ending a 17-game and 997-minute run without a goal.
• Rashford’s second-half strike was his fifth for United against Liverpool in the league – only Wayne Rooney (6) has scored more in the Premier League era.

• Only Jamie Vardy (9) and Harry Kane (8) have scored more against Liverpool than Rashford has during Jurgen Klopp’s reign.
• United were the first side to take a 2-0 lead in a Premier League match against Liverpool since the Reds’ 7-2 spanking at Aston Villa in October 2020.
• The Red Devils have still not lost a home league match when leading at half-time since Ipswich Town beat them 2-1 in May 1984.
•  And United have still never lost a Premier League match against Liverpool when they’ve been leading at half-time, winning 18 out of 21 such matches and drawing the remaining three.
•  It was also United’s first league victory against Liverpool since a 2-1 success under Jose Mourinho in March 2018 and just their second in the last 13 fixtures against their bitter rivals.