It was ‘only’ a pre-season friendly, but Erik ten Hag has already won over the hard-to-please Manchester United faithful.
The Dutchman is the fifth pemanent person in the hot seat since the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson in 2013. There were three other caretaker-interim managers in that spell.
All were greeted with optimism, but it is safe to say that ten Hag received a slightly muted welcome as the fans realised the squad needed an overhaul.
Yet, despite only having had a short period with the players, his trademark ‘intensity in the press’ was on full display as his team crushed bitter rival Liverpool 4-0 at Thailand’s Rajamangala National Stadium on Tuesday.
United followed that with a 4-1 win over Melbourne Victory yesterday.
But it was United’s big victory over Liverpool for the Bangkok Centenary Cup that got tongues wagging.
Although both clubs made wholesale changes – in Liverpool’s case, it fielded three teams (one every 30 minutes) – that should not detract from United’s performance.
Minus the disruptive Paul Pogba, who has rejoined Juventus, United’s midfield looked menacing and slick. Its strike force, missing wantaway Cristiano Ronaldo, was deadly. It scored four times from five chances.
The Portuguese forward, last season’s top scorer with 24 goals in all competitions, feels playing in the Europa League is beneath him. However, no club wants to pay Ronaldo’s £500,000 weekly salary.
Jadon Sancho joined last year to be the focal point of United’s attack, but Ronaldo’s shock return to the club meant he had to play second fiddle.
The English forward showed, in Bangkok, that he could lead the attack with the reborn Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford.
Even if Ronaldo does not leave, he can still contribute from the bench – if his ego allows it.
One notable point of the match was how well United’s defence looked without its much-maligned captain, Harry Maguire.
The England international, who cost United £80 million in 2019, is not a fan favourite, and there have been calls to strip him of the captaincy. But ten Hag said he would not make any changes for now.
We will get a better picture of United’s progress in Australia as it has two matches against Premier League rivals – Crystal Palace on July 19, and Aston Villa on July 23.
United’s first real test of the new season comes on Aug 23 (3am), when Liverpool visits Old Trafford.
It would be only the third game of the season, which starts earlier than usual due to the World Cup in Qatar in November.