Erik ten Hag is already succeeding where Ole Gunnar Solskjaer failed at Manchester United

When Manchester United's Twitter account revealed Erik ten Hag's starting line-up an hour before the start of Monday evening's 2-1 victory over Liverpool, it is fair to say that it carried one or two surprises.

Although changes were guaranteed after the 4-0 hammering at the hands of Brentford at the Gtech Community Stadium nine days earlier, it was always going to be intriguing to see who would be tasked with trying to help United become the first club to beat Liverpool in the Premier League in 2022. The omission of Cristiano Ronaldo was the most eye-catching decision, as he, surely, was the best option to help United try and score their first goal of the season via one of their own players.

Regardless of what is happening in relation to his future at United, he remains their most reliable source of goals. He scored 24 times last season in a campaign that saw United finish a disappointing sixth in the Premier League table. Anthony Elanga was preferred in attack, forcing Marcus Rashford to move inside.

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As well as Ronaldo being forced to drop out, there were also no places in Ten Hag's plan for Harry Maguire or Luke Shaw. The England duo were demoted to the bench, with Raphael Varane and new signing Tyrell Malacia preferred at centre-back and left-back, respectively.

MEN Sport revealed Ten Hag was considering dropping Maguire as far back as the middle of last week, meaning it was already clear that Lisandro Martinez, despite being hooked at half-time against Brentford, would retain his place. Martinez, who has been brought to Old Trafford to start games week-in, week-out, as opposed to topping up the squad, justified his