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.
All of this led to United coming away with a 2-1 win on the day, leaving Liverpool sat 16th in the PL.
Following the game, Bruno Fernandes has shown his support for Donny van de Beek.
Post-match, the Portuguese star showed his love for his Dutch teammate on Instagram. Van de Beek posted: “Big win, see you on Saturday.”
When Erik ten Hag arrived at Manchester United, many expected to see Van de Beek handed a prominent role for the Red Devils as the pair had previously worked so well at Ajax.
However, even with Fred and Scott McTominay his competition, the 25-year-old remains on the fringes of United’s side. He has played 19 minutes of football so far this term and that number is unlikely to increase too much thanks to the arrival of Casemiro.
