‘We can always win’

Man Utd boss Erik ten Hag says Liverpool are a mature team, but banks on last year’s FA Cup win over arch-rivals to inspire them in blockbuster clash tonight

Liverpool boss Arne Slot faces his first major test with a trip to Manchester United, while Newcastle and Tottenham also face off on Sunday hoping to dispel early season doubts over their credentials for a top-four finish. 

Dutch duel at Old Trafford Slot has made a perfect start to the daunting task of succeeding Jurgen Klopp with two wins from his opening two Premier League games without conceding. His first chance to seriously impress the Liverpool support comes at one of Klopp’s least favourite grounds as English football’s two most successful clubs face off at Old Trafford. 

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Erik ten Hag

Despite Liverpool largely enjoying the superior league position during Klopp’s near nine-year reign, he won just two of his 11 away games to United. That run included a 4-3 FA Cup quarter-final exit and 2-2 Premier League draw last season that precipitated a Liverpool collapse in his final few months in charge. Yet the pressure is arguably even more on the Dutch manager in the other dugout. 

Erik ten Hag was backed by those at the top of United’s new sporting structure at the end of last season despite finishing eighth—the club’s worst ever Premier League performance. 

“Liverpool are in a different phase of the life cycle,” Ten Hag told reporters on Friday. “They are a mature team with players who have played together for a long time and are very experienced. We are much more mixed and we have to build a new team.”

But ten Hag still believed in his team. “We can always win, last year we won [in the FA Cup] in the second part of the season,” the Dutchman said.
 
Hope of a new dawn for the Red Devils has been diminished in the opening weeks of the new campaign. Joshua Zirkzee’s late winner on his debut at least ensured a winning start against Fulham, but a 2-1 defeat to Brighton last weekend had many of the same hallmarks that have seen United struggle previously under Ten Hag. 

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