The creator and scorer of Manchester United’s first goal against Liverpool under Erik ten Hag are both long gone. Anthony Elanga was sold and Jadon Sancho exiled and then loaned.. Marcus Rashford slotted in the winner on that balmy and uproarious evening in August 2022. It was the night of Ten Hag’s first win as United manager and Liverpool’s first domestic defeat that calendar year.. Ten Hag said on live television afterwards: “They (the players) can play f—–g football.”. Away from the cameras, he used the same expletive: “F—–g hell.” He used the same words nine days earlier when he was reeling from United’s generational nadir at Brentford. The words now had a different meaning.. United players were hauled in for training the day after the Brentford debacle and Ten Hag joined them on a punishing 13.8 kilometre run in 30-degree heat. An eyewitness said the players were “ruined”.. He then decisively settled on four changes to the team: Raphael Varane, Tyrell Malacia, Scott McTominay and Anthony Elanga in for Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw, Fred and Cristiano Ronaldo. The demotions of captain Maguire and talisman Ronaldo were especially significant. It marked the beginning of the end for Ronaldo at United and Maguire was stripped of the captaincy 11 months later.. READ MORE: United players and staff attend team-bonding meal. READ MORE: United have two places up for grabs vs Liverpool. Sancho’s goal elicited a roar unlike any other this correspondent has heard at Old Trafford. The online footage does not do it justice. One of the United analysts celebrated so wildly he punched a desk and sent a colleague’s coffee cup flying.. Casemiro was unveiled on the pitch that night and the £70million signing was an afterthought post-match. United fans taunted Jordan Henderson with a chorus of “You’re just a s–t Casemiro”.. That defeat signalled the start of Liverpool’s malaise last season. They return to Old Trafford on Sunday with their aura restored. One cup already sits atop a plinth in the Anfield museum and three more may be required as Jurgen Klopp continues his farewell tour.. Scuppering a City treble, and safeguarding United’s 1999 vintage, was an incentive for supporters at last year’s FA Cup final. Kiboshing a Klopp quadruple is another in the first cup quarter-final between United and Liverpool.. Ten Hag will not frame it that way. Returning to Wembley with a victory against United’s nemesis would do wonders for his approval ratings. A successful season would still be possible with progress to the semi-finals.. The brief exposure Ten Hag granted Toby Collyer, Habeeb Ogunneye and Dermot Mee is set to end as United should have a fuller squad again. Maguire, Mason Mount and Aaron Wan-Bissaka are back in training. Rasmus Hojlund could be before kick-off, too. United will still have 50 hours to assess Hojlund after Ten Hag’s 1.15pm press conference ends today, should there still be a doubt over the Dane’s fitness.. With Hojlund, United are only two players short of their strongest XI. As much as some pseuds try to complicate football, it is an uncomplicated game. With their striker scoring, United embarked on a five-game winning streak, racking up 15 goals.. Hojlund won player of the month for February (Image: Getty). Without Hojlund, they have lost two of their past four games and scraped five goals. A defender and a defensive midfielder have scored, Rashford hit the goal of his life at City and there were two penalty conversions against Everton.. Lisandro Martinez, colossal in his breakthrough performance against Liverpool 19 months ago, is a loss. As are Luke Shaw and Jonny Evans, both disciplined in the goalless draw at Anfield in December.. As staid as United were against Everton, the early kick-off time and anodyne opponents had a bearing on the performance. Liverpool at home in the FA Cup quarter-final is not a mere fixture or cup tie but an occasion. The United players have to rise to it.. They did for 70-odd minutes at City the other week. United were compact and diligent against “the best team in the world”, in the words of Ten Hag. After reticence against City United have to be relentless against Liverpool.. United were exceptional against Liverpool at home last season. Lose and United will have regressed to two years ago. Ejection from the Champions League by Atletico Madrid was the death knell for their campaign even though they were only three points off fourth place.. The mood was corrosive at the time. A fan turned on technical director Darren Fletcher during United’s listless home draw with Everton at the start of April and the month was marred by defeats on the blue and red sides of Stanley Park, as well as at Arsenal.. United’s sole win that month against Norwich was overshadowed by protests outside Old Trafford. Inside, Paul Pogba’s final appearance at the stadium was soundtracked to ‘F–k off Pogba’ from the boisterous section of the Stretford End. A Ronaldo hat-trick did not take top billing.. The day after the Atletico loss, this newspaper reported Ten Hag was United’s preferred candidate to replace Ralf Rangnick. The March internationals are an ideal time for forward planning and the Ineos power brokers are assessing potential replacements for Ten Hag.. United’s season effectively ended with defeat to Atletico in 2022. A second United Dutch manager could feasibly finish outside the Premier League top four, lift the FA Cup and leave the club premises. Louis van Gaal barely celebrated United’s last FA Cup in 2016 as it belatedly dawned on him he was about to be replaced. Van Gaal’s departure was announced just over 48 hours after he paraded the cup in front of journalists in the Wembley press conference room.. There is not an obvious successor waiting to ascend the throne as there was back then. Lose to Liverpool and the red-top headlines have an easy headline: ‘Erik ten games’ – in the Premier League.. Tottenham and Aston Villa both play this weekend. If Spurs beat Fulham and Villa prevail at West Ham, United will be nine points adrift of fifth, a demeaning but potential route back into the Champions League. Sancho is likelier to be playing in it next season.
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