A 10,000-strong multitude of supporters gathered outside Old Trafford before kick-off, ever-zealous in their attempts to oust the Glazers from ownership of the club, yet Erik ten Hag went ahead with his own game plan to show he could possibly shake things up much sooner with positive changes on the pitch.
It could well have been the protests stirring the soul. Or perhaps it was the identity of the opposition that provided the much-needed provocation as Liverpool had come smirking and seeking to extend their recent dominance over United. But in the end, suffice it to say that Ten Hag dug his heels in to finally kick-start a possible, hopeful new era at Old Trafford with a soul-stirring, heartwarming performance full of hunger, discipline and counter-attacking quality that had been almost entirely absent in their opening two games and the better part of the previous campaign.
On a parallel path, having the gall to drop both your club captain and your iconic centre-forward from the starting lineup for a game of symbolic magnitude takes a certain measure of self-belief, as new gaffer Erik ten Hag did exactly just that, leaving club captain Harry Maguire and most prolific striker of last season Cristiano Ronaldo noticeably out of his starting XI against bittter rivals Liverpool.
In fact, it was only the fourth Premier League game since Ronaldo rejoined United from Juventus last summer, and the marked difference in performance from their recent soul-less defeat at Brentford was like night and day as Ten Hag finally stamped his authority to secure his first career Premier League win. High time someone with chutzpah did that at lawless Old Trafford, eh what?
Timely goals from youngbloods Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford helped Man United shrug off a horrendous start to the season to beat LIverpool 2-1 at Old Trafford in a frantic bid to re-ignite their campaign. Mohamed Salah’s solitary goal inside the final 10 minutes gave the hosts some nervous moments but only served at best as a consolation. The victory is justifiable, and a most timely, vindication for the United boss as he wrestles with a club in disarray.
Reflecting on his first competitive victory as United boss, Ten Hag told Sky Sports: “Now you see we bring attitude on the pitch and there was communication, there was a fighting spirit and there was a team, and you can see what they can achieve because they can play f****** good football.”
Ten Hag said: “I’m really happy and satisfied. We wanted a different approach and we have got that.
“Brentford was not the way I want to play football. I want to see a team, I want to see players who fight. You have to be brave in and out of possession and I think we have seen that today all over the pitch.
“But we have a long way to go. When you are in a process you have to deal with setbacks but you also have highlights and today was a highlight.”
Ten Hag made two strong selection calls in leaving Cristiano Ronaldo and Harry Maguire out of his starting line-up.
The Dutchman said: “We have a squad and we have a way of playing, a style and a game plan. You look at what is the best approach to the game.
“That is what we did today and we will do it every game. Today it was those players, Saturday it could be different.”
United supporters have been hankering for an exciting new vision of the future for a long time – but could this be one that features a lot less of Ronaldo, even if he were to stay?
As for the wantaway Portugal superstar who had been relegated to the bench, Ten Hag is still diplomatically insistent Ronaldo can fit into his plans.
He said: “I think he can. In his whole career he did it under several managers, in several styles and systems. He always performed so why can’t he do this? His age is not an issue.”
There is unmistakably still a darned long way for United to go – but for now at least the revival has finally begun with some initial sparks igniting a new revolution with a long-overdue inspiring performance that new hopes can be built on.
Hopefully the phoenix has finally begun rising from the ashes.