Erik ten Hoag gets off to a dream start as Manchester United beat Liverpool 4-0 on tour

Erik ten Hoag enjoyed a successful start to his career as Manchester United manager as the team recorded a 4-0 friendly win over Liverpool. The result is unlikely to trouble Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp. The German chose a testing side, while United were almost at full strength and Klopp played three separate outfield teams for half an hour each, with the first two teams including several youngsters.

Nevertheless, United still outplayed their biggest rivals Jadon Sancho, Fred, Anthony Martial and Facundo Bellistri on the scoresheet and delighted Den Haag, who praised his side’s spirit.

“I know we have good players, now we have to build a team,” he said.

“We must not overestimate this result, we must be careful. But still I have seen some good things … We have a lot of creativity and forward speed, we have potential.”

The encounter had a pre-season feel with Liverpool using over 30 players and United over 20.

Liverpool had the better of the early game before United went ahead after 12 minutes and drew roars from the 50,000 crowd when Bruno Fernandes’ cross was badly handled by the Liverpool defence, allowing Sancho to fire into the bottom corner.

United held off a late Liverpool rally and with 14 minutes remaining, Bellistri latched onto Eric Bailly’s pass on the counter and converted easily after a one-two with Amat Diallo.

“The goals we conceded for United deserve a helping hand to be honest,” Klopp said.

“But I saw a lot of good things from our guys as well.”

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