Gary Neville praises ‘fight, tenacity and spirit’ as Manchester United beat Liverpool 2-1 on Monday

Gary Neville has called for Manchester United to build on their performance and show more spirit in their game following a shock 2-1 win over Liverpool at Old Trafford. 

The SkySports pundit praised his former side’s much-improved display against Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool after two shocking losses in their opening fixtures of the 2022-23 campaign. 

Goals from Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford either side of half-time relieved some of the mounting pressure on Erik ten Hag‘s shoulders, despite Mo Salah’s late striker, as United registered their first points of the season.  

Gary Neville claimed Manchester United showed better fight and spirit against Liverpool

Star striker Cristiano Ronaldo and club captain Harry Maguire were dropped to the bench

Neville however insisted the display could not be just a ‘one off’ performance

As part of SkySports’ coverage of the game, Neville insisted: ‘That can’t be a one off. That’s the standard that they’ve now set. I think they ran 12K more than last weekend? 

‘United teams who have done well have always had legs, pace up front. The boy Malacia at left back. 

‘A bit of fight, tenacity, spirit, the crowd were cheering after two minutes because of tackles and effort and that’s a sad indictment of how United have been.

‘United were under massive pressure tonight. It would have been awful if Liverpool had gone 1-0 or 2-0 up after 10 minutes. The owners still need to go by the way!’

Jadon Sancho opened the scoring in a match overshadowed by mass protests before the game

The Red Devils’ Dutch manager made several big calls prior to kick-off despite becoming the first manager at the club to lose his first two games in charge in over a century. 

Ten Hag chose to drop his perennially under fire captain Harry Maguire and wantaway star Cristiano Ronaldo ahead of, what is for many fans, the biggest fixture in the Premier League calendar. 

Their spots in the side were filled by Raphael Varane, who partnered new signing Lisandro Martinez at the heart of the United defence, and Anthony Elanga, who started on the wing as Rashford moved into a more central role. 

Marcus Rashford added a second for the hosts just eight minutes after the restart

Despite a late Mo Salah goal Liverpool sit in 16th place without a win in the 2022-23 season

The Egyptian forward scored in the 81st minute for his second goal of the campaign

And Neville was full of praise for the ‘brave’ calls made by the manager before the game, adding: ‘I didn’t think that was possible before the game. They’ve responded, making brave decisions, leaving the captain and star player on the bench. 

United out-performed a Liverpool side famed for their impressive work rate and pressing

‘Bruno has responded. Martinez has played well alongside Varane. I can’t believe what I’ve just witnessed. It was just the effort difference. 

‘They’ve out-run and out-sprinted Liverpool. They’ve shown tonight they are capable of doing it (out-running teams).

‘Football fans want fight, passion, heart, running, that they care. Those players tonight have done that and wow did they need it. It’s been bad in the last 7-10 days.’

United fans at the stadium were also treated to a first look at Casemiro, who is set to join the club on a four-year deal worth £375,000-per-week after a £70million move. 

The move was not finalised in time for the grudge match that took place at Old Trafford, but he will likely be registered with the Premier League in time for United’s next fixture. 

Ten Hag’s side travel to the south coast on Saturday, where they take on Southampton at St. Mary’s in the hope that they can build on their first win of the campaign.  

Casemiro was paraded to the Old Trafford crowd ahead of a £70million move from Real Madrid