‘To be honest’ - Erik ten Hag makes Liverpool admission after Man Utd defeat

Erik ten Hag has played down Manchester United’s resounding pre-season victory over Liverpool.

The Reds were beaten 4-0 by their bitter Premier League rivals in what was ten Hag’s first match in the Old Trafford helm.

Jadon Sancho, Fred, Anthony Martial and Facundo Pellistri were all on target in Bangkok, Thailand.

However, Liverpool used a total of 32 players - with all outfielders only given 30-minute cameos.

And while ten Hag was happy with his side’s display, he was not getting carried away.

What’s been said

The Dutchman told the club website: “We are satisfied today because I think there was a team with great spirit. We know we are just starting and when things begin to click like the press.

“We know we made some mistakes in pressing and conceded some chances but also we created a lot and I think our team played bravely, they were proactive and we had to work really hard to get out of some mistakes. Of course, we are happy with the first game.“It was not only the result. I know we have good players but we have to play as a team. We started the first game well so I am happy.”

“Of course it will take time, believe me I have seen a lot of mistakes but I will not say [what they were]. But to be honest, Liverpool played with three teams and they were not at their strongest, so we are not overestimating them [our players].

“We saw some really good things. What you see is we have a lot of creativity and speed in the front and we have potential.”