Chief football reporter Old Trafford

HTML0Manchester United manager Erik Ten Hag has said he’s “not Harry Potter”, and is insistent that his team are in a good position to win the trophy this season, despite their disappointing defeat at home to Liverpool.

The team had already had a goal blocked out prior to Luis Diaz struck twice in seven minutes of the first-half during the opening period at Old Trafford.

Mohamed Salah added a third just nine minutes after the restart, and United were lucky to get away without repeating their defeat by 5-0 in the same match on 2021.

It was not a good morning for the Ten Hag considering the starting lineup featured six of his own signings. The latest addition, PS50.5m Uruguay midfielder Manuel Ugarte was presented to the fans prior to kick-off, having been admitted after Friday’s 12:01 BST deadline to be a part of the match.

United are currently 14th on their position in Premier League table, with only three points from their first three fixtures.

Ten Hag was unable to believe in the negative interpretation of the outcome, saying that he doesn’t expect anyone to create magical results.

“It is not like I am Harry Potter,” he declared. “You must acknowledge that.

“For three players, it was their first time starting the season.

“Manuel Ugarte did not play one minute – he needs to build his fitness. Then we have to build him into the team. I am sure he will contribute to our team. It will take a couple of weeks, maybe even a month. That is the same for a lot of players.”

Ten Hag included striker Joshua Zirkzee as well as striker Joshua Zirkzee. The Netherlands forward played an odd game, mixing numerous haphazard passes and grabbing United’s best chances. One was missed, another one that was brilliantly prevented from Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson Becker.

Matthijs de Ligt did not seem at ease in the middle of the field with Lisandro Martinez. England midfielder Kobbie Mainoo was caught out frequently to Ryan Gravenberch, who excelled in central positions of the opponents.

Ten Hag got involved in a heated debate with a journalist during his post-match press conference.

A former Ajax coach admitted to having an “different vision” to the one he outlined around his team making the same mistakes over two seasons, “otherwise we wouldn’t win trophies and beat bigger opponents”.

“I don’t want to talk about positives today,” the coach stated. “This loss is a blow to us as well as our fans.

“It it is our third match of the year. I’ve been asked to explain this often. We must build the team of the future. We’ll be fine, but it’s evident that we need to make improvements.

“At the end of the season I am quite confident we will have a big chance to lift another trophy.”

Casemiro’s bad day

A veteran Brazil midfielder Casemiro was responsible for the two initial Liverpool goals.

The ball was sent directly to Gravenberch deep inside United’s side’s first half and was pushed off by Diaz too easily in the second time.

Ten Hag took the bold decision of replacing him as a ex- Real Madrid man with 20-year-old Toby Collyer at half-time.

A video surfaced on social media, and was said to demonstrate Casemiro departing Old Trafford early – which Ten Hag rejected.

“He didn’t leave the stadium at half-time,” the manager added. “I was with him in the dressing room following the match.

“I removed him because we were 2-0 down to an opponent similar to Liverpool. We needed to be cautious in order to rebound and had midfielders who could be able to cover the ground.

“He won everything in his career. I am sure he will keep contributing to our team.”