STARTING XI

Manchester United XI: De Gea, Dalot, Varane, Lindelof, Shaw, Fred, Mctominay, Bruno Fernandes, Sancho, Martial, Rashford

Liverpool XI: Alisson, Mabaya, Phillips, Gomez, Chambers, Henderson, Morton, Carvalho, Elliott, Firmino, Diaz

Manchester United’s 5-year hunt for a trophy has ended as Erik Ten Hag’s side beat Liverpool 4-0 to win the critically acclaimed Bangkok Century Cup. 

After a turbulent last month both on the training ground and in the transfer market, Man United faced a Liverpool side who were looking to bounce back from their Champions League final defeat to Real Madrid.

Man United started well and it only took Jadon Sancho 12 minutes to calmly slot in the opener before the Red Devils continued to control the game.

Fred then beautifully chipped Alisson to make it 2-0 before Anthony Martial made it 3 in as many minutes later.

At half time, Man United switched up by replacing every outfield player which saw introductions for the likes of Charlie Savage, Zidane Iqbal, Eric Bailly and a debut for Tyrell Malacia. 

On the hour mark, Liverpool brought their big guns on including Mohamed Salah, Thiago and former Man United target Darwin Nunez.

The momentum was with Liverpool in the second half however on the 76th minute, Facundo Pellistri netted a 4th from a counter attack fuelled by a brilliant Eric Bailly run.

The game ended 4-0 and Man United have officially won the Bangkok Century Cup.

So what did we learn from this “friendly” and what can we expect from the coming season?

1 – TEN HAG MODERNISING DE GEA

David De Gea was one of the star players of last season but still raised question marks over his modern day aspects such as distribution and communication.

While this is only a friendly, we saw De Gea adventure off his line to claim crosss and close down players which is uncharacteristic of the Spaniard.

His communication with his backline were also clear to see.

David also demonstrated his best attributes by making some good saves to stop the Reds from scoring in Thailand.

Ten Hag is all about improving players and shaping them to his preferences and we are already seeing De Gea responding to this well.

2 – FRONT 3 WANT TO PROVE THEMSELVES

We all know the situation with Cristiano Ronaldo but his absence has given an opportunity to see Ten Hag try a dynamic front three of Anthony Martial with Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho off either wings, Ole’s vision you might say.

While it wasn’t swashbuckling fluid football from the three, you could evidently see that each one of them were trying to prove a point to the new boss as well as the fans that have doubted them in the past.

Not even a fortune teller knows where Cristiano Ronaldo will end up come August 31st but seeing Martial involving himself in the attacks does fill the fanbase with a little confidence.

Don’t let this detract from the fact that Man United still need to replace CR7 if he goes.

3 – CLUBS WILL LOOK AT BAILLY

Even though it is a friendly in the middle of July, Eric Bailly’s monster performance will attract interest from clubs around Europe.

Man United have walked down this road far too many times and every time they hit a dead end.

Bailly plays well in pre-season and cements himself as a viable CB option only to be a reserve for the majority of the campaign due to injury.

It is now about drumming up interest in the Ivorian for a sale and these displays will only raise that price.

Let’s see who’s heads were turned by this convincing performance.

4 – FRED COULD BE A STARTER

Fred gets a lot of stick from the Man United fanbase but you have to credit his passion for wanting to adapt to every manager that comes in.

Aside from his cheeky chip, Fred was a key part in the midfield today, an area Man United have struggled with in the recent past.

He was winning the ball and transitioning it from the defence to the attack and even join a few offence plays himself.

If you put a De Jong character next to him, I reckon we could see the very best of our pastor.

5 – IT’S NOT AS BAD AS IT SEEMS

Look, I am not getting carried away and I haven’t booked a hotel in Manchester for an open top bus parade in May but this was a performance to put the fans at ease.

It’s easy to get swarmed up in all the negativity when the team aren’t playing games and the club are pedestrian in the transfer market but this win, while not stellar, did install confidence in me that it may not be as bad as it seems from an external view.

Do we need 3 or 4 more signings? 100%. However we do have a group of players who on first sight have seemed to warm to Erik Ten Hag’s way of playing,

Now, when ETH gets the side properly going we will see much more possession and higher passing stats but for now we should be encouraged by the first test this team has faced.

 

Are you confident after that game? Let us know down below.