Manchester United produced an outstanding display to defeat Liverpool and give manager Erik ten Hag his first Premier League victory at a thunderous Old Trafford.
Ten Hag took the bold decision to drop captain Harry Maguire and Cristiano Ronaldo and was rewarded with a performance that lifted the mood of crisis around Manchester United and leave Liverpool still searching for a first win of the season.
Jadon Sancho showed superb control and composure to deservedly put United in front after 16 minutes before Marcus Rashford raced clear to beat Alisson from substitute Anthony Martial's pass eight minutes after the interval.
Mo Salah set up a tense finish when he scrambled in a header with nine minutes left but United survived to give Ten Hag just the sort of triumph he needs to make his mark at Old Trafford.
Jurgen Klopp's side have injury problems and Darwin Nunez's moment of madness that resulted in a red card against Crystal Palace deprived Liverpool of the height in attack that might have exploited Martinez's lack of stature, but they got exactly what they deserved here - nothing.
Klopp's decision to omit Fabinho was mystifying, even more so when James Milner and Jordan Henderson were left off the pace as United rattled into challenges and contested every ball with a fierce competitive edge.
Liverpool were also vulnerable at the back, with Virgil van Dijk's poor start to the season continuing, especially with a passive piece of defending for Jadon Sancho's goal.
Klopp will not be panicking and Liverpool have too much quality to struggle for long but two points from their first three league games is a bitterly disappointing return and it is hard to make a case that they deserved anything more.
