BANGKOK (AFP) - Erik Ten Hag said he was “satisfied” Tuesday after getting off to a perfect start as Manchester United manager, but insisted he would not be getting carried away after a 4-0 thumping of arch-rivals Liverpool in a preseason friendly in Thailand.
United started strongly against an unfamiliar Liverpool line-up, cruising to a 3-0 half-time lead through goals from Jadon Sancho, Fred and Anthony Martial at Bangkok’s Rajamangala Stadium, despite being without the unsettled Cristiano Ronaldo who missed the trip for family reasons.
Both managers made wholesale substitutions throughout the 90 minutes and Jurgen Klopp’s stronger second-half Liverpool line-up dominated possession before Facundo Pellistri grabbed United’s fourth on the break, 14 minutes from time.
It gave Ten Hag and his new side a morale-boosting win in their first warm-up outing ahead of the new Premier League campaign beginning next month.
“I am satisfied today,” said Dutchman Ten Hag, who took the reins at Old Trafford less than two months ago.
“It was a team with a great spirit and we know we are just getting started.
“We made some mistakes in the press, we conceded some chances, but we created a lot.”
Liverpool were unlucky not to get on the scoresheet, hitting the woodwork three times after Sancho opened the scoring in the 12th minute, the England winger slotting home to capitalize on a sloppy clearance from Isaac Mabaya.
Manchester will now head to Australia for more preseason matches, while Liverpool will face Crystal Palace in Singapore on Friday.