OLD TRAFFORD — So much for the reset. Exposure to a proper team was all it took to leave the optimism of summer scattered about Old Trafford. Erik ten Hag’s post-match perambulation about the pitch looked vaguely ridiculous, his obvious lightness of bearing inviting questions about his role in this debacle as much as the awful Casemiro’s.
The Brazilian did not appear for the second half. It might be a kindness to him were he never to be seen again. Some will be thinking that of Ten Hag, whose retention seems as empty of wisdom as Casemiro’s. What’s left of the Brazilian appears beyond salvage. What is left of Ten Hag the autumn will tell. It simply has to get better than this.
Three of the five new signings started here, and were arguably the equal of Liverpool until two avoidable blunders from Casemiro changed everything. Such is the technical quality of the best teams, one error is all it needs to undo an afternoon’s work. Two in the space of seven minutes was unforgivable.
The Brazilian, of course, symbolises the past. Echoes of the old United resound in him, an overpriced, overpaid, physically-compromised has been. And that might be flattering him. United wanted him gone in the summer but there was no one daft enough to do what they did, shell out on the shell of a name.
Ineos have moved at pace to renew the club and set United on a different path. The lingering dependence on the old framework demonstrates how bumpy the road ahead might yet be. United trust that Manuel Ugarte is the answer to Casemiro’s emptied tank, but could not push his deal through quickly enough, assuming he would have started anyway having not played since representing Uruguay in July.
You felt for Toby Collyer, a 20-year-old new boy asked to patrol a playground full of big lads. Yet before Casemiro disintegrated this game appeared finely balanced, both teams going at it. Casemiro’s drilled pass straight to the feet of Ryan Gravenberch left the United defence suddenly bent out of shape, a quick pass to Mo Salah, dragged everybody leftwards, leaving Luis Diaz and Dominic Szoboszlai to fight over the header at the far post.
When Casemiro was dispossessed minutes later the old doubts began to gather. And Liverpool do not lack confidence. They had the ball in the back of the net after seven minutes, hitting swiftly on the counter. VAR spotted a leg the wrong side of providence. United made the most of the reprieve, edging possession and driving forward.
Back then there were some shards of light, or De Ligt as the case might be. In those early stages Matthijs de Ligt looked to the manor born. Little wonder thousands in Munich signed a petition to keep him. At 25 he is both young and experienced, a figure with the potential to give United what Virgil van Dijk offers Liverpool, regal authority.
And when Liverpool began to wind up the machine he singlehandedly snuffed out threats with an interception or one-on-one intervention. Little builds confidence and belief like policing of that order. He is not, however, a miracle worker. Ten Hag wisely took the opportunity to withdraw him at 3-0. There was little point exposing him further to a cause self-evidently lost.
So three games in to the season Ten Hag is back where he was, explaining away failure. He chose here to start without his most effective player, Amad Diallo, presumably seeing him as an impact sub. In his stead Marcus Rashford was given another chance. “Stupid” was how Ten Hag described Alan Shearer’s observations of Rashford during last week’s defeat at Brighton.
On this evidence Shearer is not the one looking intellectually challenged. United have been sub-par in front of goal throughout Ten Hag’s reign. Rashford seems incapable of summoning his best and whatever attributes Joshua Zirkzee might have, an innate sense of plunder is not among them.
The 23-year-old striker sees himself as a latter-day Dimitar Berbatov or Zlatan Ibrahimovic. He has the height of the latter, but none of his presence. A hero on the opening day, coming on as a sub to poach the goal that beat Fulham, he started here but never got going.
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