Man Utd 4-0 Liverpool: Player ratings as Erik ten Hag era starts with a bang in Bangkok friendly
Erik ten Hag's career as Manchester United manager got off to the best possible start as bitter rivals Liverpool were dispatched 4-0 in a pre-season friendly in Bangkok.
United capitalised on three horrible defensive errors to establish an unlikely three-goal lead at half-time.
After Luis Diaz had forced an excellent save from David de Gea with a bending effort at the other end, Jadon Sancho pounced on a weak clearance to fire into the bottom corner for 1-0.
The Reds couldn't believe they weren't level six minutes later as youngster Luke Chambers had a shot blocked before both Fabio Carvalho and Luis Diaz hit the woodwork within moments of each other.
Two further Liverpool mistakes in quick succession had Man Utd three to the good within 35 minutes. First, Joe Gomez failed to clear and Fred - of all people - executed an audacious lob to lift the ball over a stranded Alisson. Then - after Liverpool had made their first raft of substitutions - Rhys Williams gave the ball away with more or less his first touch and Anthony Martial ran through to dink the Brazilian stopper.
There was still time for Diogo Dalot to strike the woodwork before the break.
A raft of substitutions from both sides disrupted the flow of the game in the second half, but there were debuts for Darwin Nunez and Tyrell Malacia among them. The former had a half-chance with 20 minutes remaining, but his effort from the angle was well saved by substitute goalkeeper Tom Heaton.
Eric Bailly was central to United's fourth, throwing a stepover in his own half before Facundo Pellistri eventually finished off a sweeping move.
Mohamed Salah - one of a lot of Liverpool replacements - became the third Liverpool man to hit the woodwork, bending a shot onto the post before Nunez lifted the rebound over late on.
Manchester United (4-2-3-1)
GK: David de Gea - 8/10 - Made a couple of excellent saves in the first half, most notably tipping Diaz's whipped effort around the post. Seemed to pick up a knock.
RB: Diogo Dalot - 7/10 - Rattled the woodwork on one of his forays forward. Made an important block too.
CB: Raphael Varane - 6/10 - Pretty quiet spell on the pitch. Untested by Liverpool's attack.
CB: Victor Lindelof - 5/10 - Like Varane, had a quiet time of it.
LB: Luke Shaw - 5/10 - Seemed to pick up a knock but soldiered on.
DM: Scott McTominay - 6/10 - Didn't treat it like a friendly, putting himself about.
DM: Fred - 8/10 - Passed smoothly and showed excellent technique to lob his international teammate.
RM: Jadon Sancho - 7/10 - Looked sharp, pouncing on an error to fire United into a lead.
AM: Bruno Fernandes - 5/10 - Saw a fair bit of the ball but not as influential as usual.
LM: Marcus Rashford - 4/10 - Never really got into the game.
ST: Anthony Martial - 7/10 - Very accomplished finish to make it 3-0, dinking the onrushing Alisson.
GK SUB 1: Tom Heaton- 6/10 - Good save to deny Nunez a debut goal.
RB SUB 1: Aaron Wan-Bissaka - 5/10 - Fairly quiet time of it.
CB SUB 1: Eric Bailly - 8/10 - Watchful during his time on the pitch, read the play well. Brilliant stepover in the build-up to the fourth and some excellent defensive interventions.
CB SUB 1: Alex Telles - 5/10 - Out of position but didn't look too out of place.
LB SUB 1: Tyrell Malacia - 6/10 - Made a very composed start and was happy to venture forward. Did well against Salah after his introduction.
DM SUB 1: Zidane Iqbal - 6/10 - Very composed and didn't look out of place.
DM SUB 1: Charlie Savage - 6/10 - Looked comfortable and even threw in a roulette.
RM SUB 1: Facundo Pellistri - 7/10 - Cool finish to round off a flowing move.
AM SUB 1: Donny van de Beek - 4/10 - Not really as involved as he would have liked.
LM SUB 1: Anthony Elanga - 6/10 - Showed good energy without getting much change out of his defender.
ST SUB 1: Amad Diallo - 6/10 - Simple assist for Pellistri on the break.
Liverpool (4-3-3)
GK: Alisson Becker - 4/10 - A goalkeeper of his standard shouldn't have been lobbed so easily.
RB: Isaac Mabaya - 4/10 - Failed to clear in the lead-up to the opener, inadvertently teeing up Sancho. Some good attacking endeavour.
CB: Nat Phillips - 3/10 - Not very convincing. All over the shop before Fred struck.
CB: Joe Gomez - 3/10 - Failed to clear and it was his loose touch that led to Fred's lob.
LB: Luke Chambers - 5/10 - Had a good sight of goal but couldn't take advantage.
CM: Tyler Morton - 6/10 - Passed smoothly and didn't do anything wrong at all.
CM: Jordan Henderson - 4/10 - Looked leggy and struggled to keep up with play.
CM: Fabio Carvalho - 6/10 - An impressive debut, always looking to create. Went close to a dream goal but hit the post.
RW: Harvey Elliott - 6/10 - Fizzed about but end product lacked on occasion. Another encouraging display nonetheless.
ST: Roberto Firmino - 4/10 - Didn't really lay a finger on the United backline. Will have his work cut out following Darwin Nunez's arrival.
LW: Luis Diaz - 7/10 - Another dazzling display, going incredibly close with two bending efforts in his 30 minutes on the pitch - denied once by De Gea and once by the post.
GK SUB 1: Adrian - N/A
RB SUB 1: Melkamu Frauendorf - 5/10 - Physical and helped to reinforce the back line.
CB SUB 1: Joel Matip - 5/10 - Shored things up and passed well.
CB SUB 1: Rhys Williams - 2/10 - Made a horrible mistake to gift the ball to Martial as soon as he was introduced.
LB SUB 1: Kostas Tsimikas - 5/10 - Did nothing of note but fine on the ball.
CM SUB 1: Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain - 4/10 - Fair quieter than he would have liked.
CM SUB 1: Leighton Clarkson - 5/10 - Energetic but up against experienced campaigners.
CM SUB 1: James Milner - 6/10 - Appeared to be as fit as ever.
RW SUB 1: Stefan Bajcetic - N/A
ST SUB 1: Bobby Clark - 5/10 - Had one half-opening but couldn't quite get there on the slide.
LW SUB 1: Curtis Jones - 4/10 - Did very little during his time on the field.
RB SUB 2: Trent Alexander Arnold- 5/10 - Not able to create anything in his 30-minute stint.
CB SUB 2: Ibrahima Konate - 4/10 - Stormed out of defence with the ball at his feet - but left a gaping hole behind him which Bailly exploited.
CB SUB 2: Virgil van Dijk- 5/10 - Completely isolated before Pellistri scored.
LB SUB 2: Andy Robertson- 5/10 - Tried to get his side going but to no avail.
CM SUB 2: Naby Keita - 5/10 - Neat and tidy but didn't really affect play.
CM SUB 2: Fabinho - 5/10 - Solid enough but didn't see much of the ball.
CM SUB 2: Thiago Alcantara- 5/10 - Not able to create anything of note and looked a little leggy.
RW SUB 2: Mohamed Salah - 6/10 - Quiet before hitting the woodwork with a bending strike.
ST SUB 2: Darwin Nunez - 6/10 - Had a sighter but Heaton saved well. Looked a little isolated at times. Unable to capitalise when Salah's shot came off the bar back to him.
LW SUB 2: Tom Hill- 6/10 - Looked bright and was always looking to get on the ball.
