Incredible stats show Manchester United ran 18km more against Liverpool than Brentford and made 90 more sprints
Some incredible running stats from Manchester United's 2-1 victory over Liverpool at Old Trafford have been revealed. The Red Devils reportedly ran nearly 18km more against their arch-rivals than they did against Brentford in a 4-0 defeat last week.
Erik ten Hag forced his squad to come into training on their day off following the team's defeat at Brentford on Saturday, 13 August. The Dutch boss made the players run 13.8km less than 24 hours after the defeat in west London, as that was the distance they had been outrun by the hosts.
Is this really Manchester United? It can’t be, because these players are full of energy, making the right choices and actually looking like they care?!
Nah, I must be dreaming.
#GlazersOUT
The punishment now appears to have paid off as the Red Devils put on an unrecognizable display against their great rivals and grabbed a deserved three points. According to The Sun, Manchester United's players ran 113.7km against Jurgen Klopp's men, which was almost 18km more than they did against Brentford (95.6km).
United ran 3km more than the Reds, who are famed for their high-intensity and exceptional pressing. The stats also revealed that the hosts made 155 sprints against their neighbors, which was 90 more than they achieved against Brentford.
That amount far outweighed Liverpool's total of 104 as Klopp's side now sit behind United in the Premier League table. Ten Hag's men also made 24 tackles in the game, which was double what they achieved the previous weekend.
Thank God Manchester United bought Casemiro. These mavericks in attack are thrilling when they are full of energy and playing at this extreme tempo, but understandably start to leave big spaces when exhausted. He should be a good complement for them.
Erik ten Hag praises Manchester United player's attitude following victory over Liverpool
The former Ajax coach made some bold decisions before Monday's game, most notably dropping Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Those choices paid off as Manchester United looked far more energetic against a disappointing Liverpool side. After the full-time whistle, Ten Hag was clearly delighted by his team's attitude, as he told BBC Sport:
"I wanted a different approach, a different attitude. That is what they bring on the pitch, that is what makes me satisfied," added the United boss. "We can talk about tactical, but it is all about attitude.
"Now you see we bring attitude on the pitch and there was communication, there was a fighting spirit and there was a team - and you can see what they can achieve because they can play good football.
"It is just the start, we have to keep humble, we can play a lot better if we keep more composure. We have good players - now be a good team and then we will act. It is not always about what we said, I said we had to act and not talk a lot, make sure you are a team, battle and also be brave."
Hear me out, even if Manchester United doesn’t win this game, they look good without Ronaldo. Ronaldo is extremely good but the energy the players on that field are giving,he can’t give it constantly.