Erik ten Hag has discovered a new Manchester United undroppable after Liverpool FC win

Tasked with trying to stop Mohamed Salah from rubbing more salt into gaping Manchester United wounds, Tyrell Malacia could not have asked for a more difficult challenge on his first Premier League start.

Salah has become something of a nightmare for United to deal with in recent seasons, scoring eight goals in his last four appearances against the Reds ahead of Monday night's latest coming together at Old Trafford. He scored a hat-trick on his last visit to the Theatre of Dreams and netted a further two goals when the two sides collided at Anfield back in April.

Although Liverpool arrived in M16 without a victory to their name, they were still the much fancied favourites to scoop all three points, particularly when you consider just how poor United were during their 4-0 drubbing at Brentford just over a week ago. But in an attempt to spark a reaction, Erik ten Hag made four changes to his starting line-up, naming a team that raised plenty of eyebrows an hour before kick-off.

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The omissions of Harry Maguire and Cristiano Ronaldo were the headline-grabbing moves made by Ten Hag, but his decision to start new recruits Lisandro Martinez and Malacia alongside each other in defence were just as bold. Malacia had never started a game in the Premier League and Martinez, a fellow new recruit, was so poor at Brentford that he was hooked at half-time, resulting in him being criticised left, right and centre.

Facing Salah, United fans feared the worst - and understandably so. However, Martinez and Malacia, supported by the experience and knowhow of Raphael Varane, who was making his first start of the campaign,