Manchester United relieve pressure with dramatic 2-1 win at Old Trafford against rival Liverpool

By Issy Ronald, CNN

Updated 1020 GMT (1820 HKT) August 23, 2022

Jadon Sancho celebrates scoring Manchester United's first goal.

(CNN)Manchester United stunned perennial title favorite Liverpool 2-1 at Old Trafford on Monday in a clash between two traditional titan teams which are underperforming in the Premier League this season.

The loss continued Liverpool's early season woes and marked the first time that it has failed to win at least one of its opening three games during manager Jurgen Klopp's tenure at the club.«We have no issue,» Klopp said, according to the Guardian. «We are in a tricky situation, injury-wise, we got through the week with 14, 15 senior players available and now have to make sure they don't get injured. »We should have won this game, I know it sounds ridiculous, but that is how I saw it."The build-up to the match began under a cloud of protests and smoke flares organized by Manchester United fans against the Glazer family, who own the club.Read MoreTheir team had started the weekend bottom of the table — following a humbling 4-0 defeat to Brentford and 2-1 loss at home to Brighton — increasing the pressure on a club beleaguered by years of failing to match expectations.But United began brightly, playing at a fast tempo and engineering an opportunity after just four minutes as Marcus Rashford outstripped Virgil van Dijk but could not get his shot past the Liverpool defender.Six minutes later, the Red Devils had another chance as Anthony Elanga's shot ricocheted off the post, and the home crowd responded to its team with increasing enthusiasm.Despite these early shocks, Liverpool still struggled to find any rhythm and was punished on 16 minutes as Jadon Sancho controlled the ball with a couple of cool