Erik ten Hag shares how he thought Liverpool played during 3-0 friendly win over Man United

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Liverpool rounded off their pre-season tour of the USA with a resounding win over Manchester United on Sunday.

The Reds had their confidence up following a 2-1 victory against Arsenal on Thursday and backed that up by demolishing their arch rivals in South Carolina.

For Arne Slot, it was the perfect introduction to life at Liverpool playing Premier League teams.

It was not all good for the Reds, though. They had to rely on some brilliant goalkeeping from Caoimhin Kelleher and Vitezslav Jaros to keep them ahead.

But having seen his team beaten so comfortably, Erik ten Hag offered his verdict on how Liverpool played against Man United on the night.

Erik ten Hag offers Liverpool verdict

Liverpool flew straight back to England after Sunday’s win and so there was little comment to soak up from Slot post-game.

Ten Hag did give his assessment, though, on what must have been a bit of a sobering night for the Dutchman.

Ten Hag has been beaten heavily by Liverpool before, of course. The 54-year-old oversaw that crazy afternoon at Anfield when the Reds put seven past his side.

In fairness to he and to United, they were much better that that on Sunday morning. But with Ten Hag still tasting the sting of defeat, he gave his verdict on how he saw Slot’s Liverpool to manutd.com.

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“As I said, I think there were good bits,” the manager said of his own team’s performance. “And the first goal is always very important.

“I thought Liverpool played very well, but they were also very efficient.”

Speaking briefly to liverpoolfc.com after the match, Slot appeared to agree with his compatriot, claiming that the Reds were not in control of the game, despite the scoreline.

“We are very happy with the result, we scored some really nice goals,” said the 45-year-old. “But I don’t think we had enough control over the game because United were threatening us more than a few times.”

Who stood out for Liverpool?

It was a funny game on Sunday morning. Despite Liverpool’s thumping win, it certainly was not as comfortable as the scoreline would suggest.

Obviously, there’s plenty to be said for the fact that the Reds could not be at their best and still come away with a 3-0 win against their biggest rival.

But it should also be pointed out that there was lots for Liverpool to work on here.

Nevertheless, it’s always good to focus on the positives and there were plenty of those for the Reds, too. Kelleher really stood out, while Ryan Gravenberch was excellent on his first appearance of pre-season.

Mohamed Salah continued his productive summer with another assist, while Stefan Bajcetic was superb off the bench. Plenty for Slot to ponder on the flight home.