The Erik ten Hag era at Manchester United began with a 4-0 friendly victory against Liverpool two years ago in Bangkok. The scoreboard in South Carolina was almost the reverse.
The upgrade in opposition after the enterprising win against Real Betis resulted in a clinical Liverpool exposing United’s glaring squad issues. The absence of a proven goalscorer, problematic throughout last season, cost United in a game they dominated for large swathes.
United are without Rasmus Hojlund until September yet they have invested more than £100million in two strikers with identically modest goalscoring records. Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee are of the potential variety, rather than proven. Zirkzee, not even on tour, is already under mounting pressure to hit the ground running ahead of his possible debut in the Community Shield against Manchester City on Saturday.
The United players will wonder how they did not get on the scoresheet against Caoimhin Kelleher, who conceded six goals in two matches at Old Trafford last season. The Irishman was the busier goalkeeper at the Williams-Brice Stadium yet Andre Onana was the custodian who fished the ball out of his net time and again.
Ten Hag is more vexed about the state of United’s defence than their attack. In all five pre-season friendlies, the starting centre backs have been substituted at half-time or, in the unfortunate Leny Yoro’s case, before. Harry Maguire was absent from the United squad in South Carolina as a precaution and Ten Hag was forced to start the unwanted Victor Lindelof again.
Will Fish, sent off during Ten Hag’s first pre-season in Melbourne, came on for the second half, got booked in the second game running and injured himself in the process. He was carried off on a stretcher.
Maxi Oyedele, a midfielder by trade, briefly had to drop back to centre back as United had run out of them. Casemiro volunteered to trade places.
