Positive Ten Hag revs United’s engine
We need to save our season, Erik ten Hag had said. And they did, somehow, anyhow, with a goal from Antony and a goal from Amad Diallo. With twice as many wingers on the pitch (those two plus Alejandro Garnacho and Marcus Rashford) as defenders (just Harry Maguire and Diogo Dalot). After parking the bus at Anfield, Ten Hag revved the engine, and kept revving. Antony scored his first goal of the season against anyone other than Newport County. Diallo scored his first goal for United since a cute back-header against Milan, which happened so long ago that the manager was Ole Gunnar Solskjær. United had nine shots in extra time to Liverpool’s two. Rashford rose to the occasion at both ends of the game, first on the left wing, then at centre-forward. He missed two good chances but kept calm enough to take the next one. Ten Hag was like a fan, going: “Attack! Attack! Attack!” and it worked. His players may have saved not just their season, but also his job. Tim de Lisle
