Manchester United turned the tide and recorded their first victory of the seismic new season at Old Trafford on Tuesday evening, beating bitter rivals Liverpool 2-1.
It turned out to be an outcome that Liverpool centre-back Virgil van Dijk had correctly predicted that the Red Devils would use the Reds visit to Old Trafford on Monday evening as motivation and a morale-boosting adrenaline shot in the arm to create the perfect environment to turn their early-season fortunes around.
Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford – who had both been under increasing criticism since the season began – recorded goals, which were enough to secure a fully-deserved first three points of the season for United despite Mohamed Salah’s consolation header in the remaining minutes of the match.
United dug deep and showed their dominance from the get-go to the last whistle and put Liverpool on the back-foot from kick-off itself, capitalising to full advantage manager Erik ten Hag’s gamble of making four key changes to his starting line-up that actually paid handsome dividends. The likes of Raphael Varane and Tyrell Malacia, who both earned their first starts of the season, justified their gaffer’s faith in their inclusions as both were undeniably excellent and played key roles in a first United victory since May.
Having entered the contest as overwhelming underdogs following the 4-0 trouncing at Brentford, the Red Devils were not expected to emerge unscathed from the game, despite Liverpool themselves having been stuttering in their opening two matches of the season. Remarkably, the same Merseysiders who had disemboweled their bitter rivals last season were no match at all for Ten Hag’s fierce troopers. Clearly, the Dutchman had got the kind of response he was seeking all along.
Disappointed though he was with both his own performance and that of his team, Liverpool defender Van Dijk had correctly forecasted that United would approach the clash with Jurgen Klopp’s side with the mentality of aiming to turn things around with a full frontal assault. He highlighted how a game of such magnitude was the ideal opportunity.
“They [United] are a good team, in my opinion, they have good players all over the pitch,” Van Dijk said, speaking in the build-up to the contest.
“Obviously they’re not in the best situation confidence-wise, but it’s the perfect game to turn it around for them.
“We’re looking at ourselves and we want to make sure we’re ready for it and we are going to work hard this week again,” Van Dijk continued.
“It’s massive but it’s not about making a statement, we want to win and do everything that’s possible to win there.”
Well, United certainly deserve full credit for turning it around most superbly. The same players that had been criticised in earlier games since last season as being ragged and lifeless on the pitch were suddenly regalvanised and played as though their lives depended on it, causing the terraces to erupt with vibrant noise that Old Trafford had not heard in years.