MANCHESTER, England — Arne Slot continued his 100 percent winning start as Liverpool manager with a 3-0 victory over Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday, putting renewed pressure on manager Erik ten Hag at the club.

Two first-half goals from Luis Díaz — Trent Alexander-Arnold also had a first-half goal ruled out for offside by VAR — and a second-half strike from Mohamed Salah sealed an easy win for Liverpool, who move joint-top of the Premier League with Manchester City on nine points. But United’s defeat was their second in three league games this season and leaves Ten Hag’s side heading into the international break with question marks over their ability to challenge for Champions League qualification after spending more than £180m on new players in the summer.

Ten Hag humiliated by Slot

Ten Hag is now in his third season as Manchester United manager, but he was humiliated by Slot in his third game as Liverpool manager. The build-up to this game had been dominated by the saga of two Dutch coaches making the leap from the Eredivisie to taking charge of the Premier League’s two biggest clubs, but it was Slot’s Liverpool that looked like the manager had been in charge for years, rather than Ten Hag’s United.

Last season’s FA Cup victory over Manchester City at Wembley ensured Ten Hag kept his job at Old Trafford, but all the problems that threatened his position last year came flooding back in the defeat to Liverpool.

For too long under Ten Hag, United have been overwhelmed in midfield, lacking a threat up front and struggling with their full-backs. Part of that can be attributed to personnel, but the players have changed over time but the problems have not gone away.

Casemiro lacks the mobility to perform at Premier League level, but Bruno Fernandes plays so far forward that there are huge gaps in the centre of the pitch. Ten Hag has had plenty of time to correct that deficiency, but he hasn’t, and so Liverpool have dominated the central third of the pitch.

And up front, Ten Hag has persisted with the out-of-form Marcus Rashford, who has yet to score this season. Summer signing Joshua Zirkzee also looks far removed from match fitness and speed of thought, and Ten Hag’s substitutions — he has let Rashford play the full 90 minutes but has taken out the impressive Alejandro Garnacho — invite further criticism.

Ten Hag said last week that Slot inherited a better team at Liverpool than he had at United, but Ten Hag has now had enough time to make a difference. This performance was worrying for the former Ajax coach, as it seemed like a case of another season, same old problems. –Mark Ogden

Casemiro’s disastrous 45 minutes

Casemiro has two years left on his contract at Old Trafford, but this could be the day his Manchester United career comes to an end.

As the first half drew to a close – Liverpool were leading 2-0 – the Brazilian threw a hopeful ball forward, to no one in particular. There were loud groans in the stands and Garnacho, the nearest United player, threw his arms in the air in frustration.

It was the final act of a truly dreadful performance, with Ten Hag deciding at half-time that Casemiro would not continue. In his place was 20-year-old Toby Collyer, who made his first competitive appearance. Ten Hag had originally wanted to use Manuel Ugarte, the £50m signing from Paris Saint-Germain who watched on from the directors’ box.

Ugarte, the fiery defensive midfielder, was brought onto the pitch before kick-off but was not registered in time to play. After Casemiro’s horror show, it’s probably safe to say he’ll be involved when United play Southampton after the international break.

In just 45 minutes, Casemiro lost the ball 13 times and made two mistakes that directly led to goals. First, he gave the ball away to Ryan Gravenberch in midfield in the build-up to Diaz’s first goal. Then, he was dispossessed on the edge of his own penalty area just before Diaz swung home Salah’s cross for number two. In between, there was mistake after mistake and a throw-in that bounced off his shin and out of play.

It was a performance that will live long in the memory, but for all the wrong reasons. –Rob Dawson

Salah chases United again

Salah has now scored in his last five Premier League games for Liverpool at Old Trafford. No other player in the Premier League era has scored as regularly against Manchester United on their home turf.

However, it wasn’t just Salah’s second-half goal that marked his performance for Liverpool. He also created the first goal for Diaz and came close to scoring a second within a minute of making it 3-0 to Slot’s side.

The 32-year-old said after the game that this will be his last season at Liverpool as his contract expires in the summer. A lot can happen between now and May next year, so it would be foolish to rule out the prospect of Liverpool and Salah battling it out over a new deal.

Should he leave Anfield, the relief at United will be almost as great as the loss at Liverpool.

The former Chelsea and Roma striker has established himself as a Liverpool legend in his seven years at the club and will go down in history as one of the Premier League’s best attackers, on par with the likes of Thierry Henry, Eric Cantona, Didier Drogba and Erling Haaland. –Ogden

Liverpool’s midfield is spinning, United’s porous

As bad as Casemiro was, he would be forgiven for looking with envy at the slick way in which Liverpool’s midfield operated.

Both teams started with three men in midfield: Casemiro, Fernandes and Kobbie Mainoo for United and Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai for Liverpool. Where Slot’s players looked like cogs in a well-oiled machine, United’s red shirts looked like crisp packets fluttering aimlessly in the wind.

Gravenberch was excellent, winning 100% of his tackles and recovering the ball six times. He was also allowed to roam forward and when he did, Mac Allister took up position in front of the back four. When Mac Allister went forward, Gravenberch dropped back.

Too often Casemiro was caught out on the pitch and looked around to see Mainoo and Fernandes following him forward. One pass from Virgil van Dijk after just six minutes took over most of United’s midfield and they were lucky that Alexander-Arnold’s goal was ruled out for offside.

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Nicol: Manchester United’s problems go much deeper than Casemiro

Casemiro cannot take all the blame for Manchester United’s 3-0 defeat to Liverpool, according to Steve Nicol.

On another day, Mainoo might have been sent off before half-time after committing two fouls in a desperate attempt to plug the gaping holes in the middle of the pitch.

At one point, Sir Jim Ratcliffe had his head in his hands and the concern for United’s new co-owner is that Slot has left his midfield spinning after just three games, while the structural problems in Ten Hag’s team have been apparent for over 18 months. Oh, and Slot didn’t even get the midfielder he wanted in the summer, as Martín Zubimendi decided to stay at Real Sociedad. –Dawson

New United regime looks bleak, Liverpool go wild

There have been major changes at United in recent months, with Ratcliffe’s INEOS group taking over control of the club’s football operations from the Glazer family, the club’s majority owners. Ratcliffe has hired Omar Berrada as chief executive, Dan Ashworth as director of football and Jason Wilcox as technical director, with all four men in the boardroom as Liverpool tore United apart.

Berrada arrives from Manchester City with a reputation for quick results and a clear sign of progress, while Ashworth and Wilcox have spent their first summer busy in the transfer market, signing and selling a number of players. However, United were so poor against Liverpool that they will be wondering how long it will be before things turn around.

Ten Hag is not yet in danger but if United continue to struggle after the October international break, managers such as Gareth Southgate and Thomas Tuchel could give the new bosses more options if they decide to make changes. –Ogden

Liverpool’s audacious 4-2-4 system is successful, but does it work against the best?

Slot opted for a bold 4-2-4 formation, with Gravenberch and Mac Allister covering the central third of the pitch for Liverpool. Both players impressed, dominating their areas of the pitch, but their opponents were in disarray in midfield. At times, Liverpool had the midfield to themselves.

The formation worked against United, but it’s unlikely Slot will be able or likely to employ the same game plan against opponents such as Manchester City or Arsenal. Slot was rewarded for his guts against United, but City and Arsenal will pose a much greater threat from all areas of the pitch, so expect a more solid Liverpool midfield in those games. –Ogden