Tim Howard and Robbie Mustoe have hailed Manchester United's first-half performance in their derby clash with Liverpool.
The Red Devils led 1-0 at half-time following a Jadon Sancho strike in the 15th minute. But it was United's press which caught the eye of the NBC pundits.
'The beginning of everything is tempo and aggressive pressing and winning the ball back,' Mustoe explained during their Premier League coverage.
'It’s kind of simple but that triggers everything else and when you’ve got center backs that are OK to come in and win the ball back and full backs that are OK to push forward and press the ball and win the ball.
'It wasn’t a super high press but anytime the ball was in the midfield area going up to the front players the press was there, winning the ball back. That triggers the front players because then there’s transitions and they can make their runs which they did really, really well.
Liverpool may have had the lion's share of the ball but they failed to match the intensity and fervor of their bitter rivals.
'Liverpool had 70 percent possession it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter,' Howard said.
'They turned up this is what we wanted. I look at (Diogo) Dalot steaming into tackles right from the beginning, taking fouls.
'(Lisandro) Martinez, everyone’s asking questions about Martinez, everybody. He’s the one shoving and pushing and shoulder barging and getting in the face of Mo Salah. That’s the bare minimum that United has asked for.'
Howard went on to praise under-pressure Marcus Rashford, who had been selected from the start by Erik ten Hag, with Cristiano Ronaldo on the bench. The former US shot stopper also credited the often-maligned midfield behind him.
'Everything has been triggered from behind him, he’s been off to the races and gotten into gaps [Joe] Gomez has left but that’s because the players behind him have been lively,' he said.
'Bruno Fernandes, I think McTominay’s been good winning the ball back, playing forward. That’s part of the process as well, not just winning the ball back, because you can win it and play it side-to-side. Getting it and playing vertical, and it helps Rashford.'
The former Red Devils goalkeeper questioned Jurgen Klopp's team selection and in particular his choice of midfield three.
'When I first saw the team sheet come out and looked at Henderson, Elliott and Milner. It just wasn’t as dynamic as I thought it could’ve been,' he said.
'He’s (Milner) been slow, and Harvey Elliott doesn’t have quite yet the ability to unlock defenses with a pass like Thiago does.'
Manchester United have never lost in the Premier League at Old Trafford when leading at half-time and look rather likely to leave Liverpool in the Premier League's bottom three.
the_Profe55or
447
Ok, I just witnessed sancho turn a grown ass man into a goalkeeper! 😂😂😂
Zing123
435
Manchester United capital band almost cause a heartattack today 😂
Colito
307
In Eric Ten heg we believe no Manchester United fan will skip this
masskey611
107
Lisandro Martinez has been an absolute BEAST for Manchester United. So calm on the ball and dominating in the air. The Butcher
lotogbe21
85
A true United fans will not scroll without liking and commenting on this picture of the day.... United, Red Devil
Arerebo
71
That's what you get when you have an aggressive captain Thank you fantastic captain Bruno
Lawaltunde
65
no real Manchester United fan will pass this photo without hitting LIKE
Caliko34
62
picture of the day
AdaieFrimpong
47
Lose, Draw or Win we will forever support United. #GlazzersOut.
CR7Chiboy
30
I always tell you guys that this guy(magwire) is the reason for our failure. Imagine his absence, we won our match against Liverpool. magwire is badluck to man utd. I vote to release the arm band(captain) from him. if you agree, just like..
Blessedwinner55
17
the new tank of Manchester united