Erik ten Hag says he was impressed by Manchester United’s speed and creativity in attack

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Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag‘s first pre-season match in charge could hardly have gone any better, with the team winning 4-0 over Liverpool.

First half goals from Jadon Sancho, Fred, and Antony Martial were followed up with a goal from Facundo Pellistri in the second half.

All four are players who can add a lot to the team this season, and there were other impressive performances from Bruno Fernandes, David de Gea, Eric Bailly, and new signing Tyrell Malacia, while youngsters Zidane Iqbal and Charlie Savage impressed too.

Ten Hag made one promise, not to get carried away. He was quoted by The Athletic: “I have seen a lot of mistakes. Liverpool played three teams, they were not at their strongest. We will not overestimate this result.”

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Ten Hag impressed with attackers

Erik ten Hag made a point not to single out any players by name who he was impressed with – but he dropped a heavy hint.

The Dutchman added: “I have seen some really good things, a lot of speed and creativity up front.”

The first half saw United start Jadon Sancho, Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford together, with the trio selected in the same line-up for the very first time as we suggested they might last week.

Martial and Sancho were both on the scoresheet while Rashford had an effort blocked and another one fizz just wide, with Bruno Fernandes pulling the strings behind them.

In the second half United brought on Anthony Elanga, Facundo Pellistri and Amad, with the latter two players combining for the fourth goal.

Whether Ten Hag will get Cristiano Ronaldo to add to the mix, remains to be seen. On tour, he still has Alejandro Garnacho to call on too.

It is good to hear Ten Hag say he won’t be getting carried away, he can’t afford to. There is a lot of work ahead, with five more matches this pre-season.

United fans learned in 2014 that pre-season results count for little, with Louis van Gaal’s unbeaten run in the USA unravelling once the season kicked off.

The third game of the Premier League season is at home to Liverpool. If United can win that one 4-0, then we might lose our minds a bit.