The awakening of the great, the stumbling of the "reds"

For any other team, a defeat in August, at the very beginning of the season, would not be a concern, but in Liverpool it is an alarm. On Monday, the "Reds" lost away to their great rival Manchester United (2:1) and after three rounds of the Premier League, they have only two points.

After this triumph, United leapfrogged Jurgen Klopp's team in the standings and left them winless after three rounds of the Premier League. For the first time since Klopp has been manager, Liverpool are winless after 270 minutes of Premier League football. Liverpool has five points less than the current champion Manchester City and seven from the leader - Arsenal.

- Liverpool was bad in defense. He was not at all ready to compete with the United players. Every time United's players went on the attack in the first half it looked like they were going to score. It's embarrassing. United were criticized for their poor defending against Brentford, and now Liverpool's players have done the same. One team was outstanding, but Liverpool were not ready for the game. And that should worry Klopp - said former Liverpool player, now commentator on "Sky Sports", Jamie Carragher.

The BBC writes that, as the games go by, Liverpool is increasingly missing Sadio Mane, who moved to Bayern Munich this summer. The "Reds" have a lot of problems with injuries, Darwin Nunes was suspended due to a red card and the absence of Mane at "Old Trafford" was obvious.

- Losing Mane is a big deal. It's hard to replace him - former forward Chris Sutton said.

Carragher believes that Liverpool, apart from defence, also has problems in midfield. Against the "red devils", Jordan Henderson, Harvey Elliott and James Milner were in the starting line-up, but the midfield looked better only after the arrival of Fabinja.

- There are huge problems. The fans watch the footballers in the midfield and after this performance they must have a lot of questions - says Carragher.

Another problem is obvious - the thin bench.

- There are no players on the bench who can change the game - Carragher is harsh.

And while Liverpool is stumbling, Manchester United is waking up. The giant from "Old Trafford" registered the first victory of the season - after defeats against Brighton and Brentford, the triumph over a great opponent comes at the right time.

- I didn't think I would say this after the start of the season, but, as a fan of Manchester United, I am proud. The combativeness and energy were great," said former "Devils" player Gary Neville.

Nevila was particularly impressed by the team's performance in the first half.

- I'm amazed, I thought it was impossible. I couldn't believe what I was watching in the first 45 minutes. I thought United were not capable of such a thing. "This is a big twist," Neville enthralled.

And the first victory on the United bench was also recorded by Erik ten Haag. The start was difficult, but this could be the turning point of the season.

- I don't know what they did in training before the game, but they simply outplayed Liverpool. They set the standard and this can't just be a flash in the pan. We saw the work ethic. They ran a lot and played good football. The players and Ten Haag were under enormous pressure, so this is a big moment for them - Neville believes.

And another former United player, Roy Keane, is known to comment on events at the club without a hair on his tongue. When he needs to praise, he praises, and when he needs to criticize, he does it even more fiercely.

- Ten Hague left out Cristiano Ronaldo and Harry Maguire before the game and the players responded to that. They were excellent. This is a big boost for Ten Haag. They deserved criticism the previous week, but against Liverpool they were outstanding. They were dedicated, a great desire was evident. They deserve all the praise - the Irishman was honest.