Bruno Fernandes might have answered Manchester United's captaincy question against Liverpool FC

No reward without risk

Erik ten Hag has been keen to instil an authoritarian approach at Manchester United, and he has certainly set a precedent early on that nobody is indispensable to his side, no matter their reputation.

Club captain Harry Maguire and the highest earner, Cristiano Ronaldo, were both dropped for the visit of Liverpool, along with fan favourite Fred and long-serving Luke Shaw. It was always going to be a huge risk for the new United manager, particularly after the two defeats to start his reign, but it shows he has the belief to make such risky big calls.

If the gambles had backfired, then Ten Hag would have been slated. Instead, he deserves enormous credit for what he did.

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United have a tactical blueprint

There is still room for improvement, but United now have a clear blueprint of how to play against any side in the Premier League. Rather than choosing a risk-averse line-up looking to minimise their own shortcomings, Ten Hag instead wanted to embrace the talents of his own side, opting for pace and perpetual movement in the final third.

United identified Liverpool's weakness as the right hand side of defence and looked to exploit it from the off, targeting Trent Alexander-Arnold's defensive vulnerabilities whenever they got possession of the ball.

Instead of selecting the reliable, but restrictive, 'McFred' axis, Christian Eriksen was brought into the fold, providing an extra dimension with his creativity and composure from the centre. This gave Bruno Fernandes license to attack, and do that he did against a Liverpool side that hugely missed Fabinho from the start.

Going forward, United must continue to embrace their own talents and attack teams from the