Martial prowess from set pieces help Man Utd past Liverpool

Manchester United climbed up to second in the Premier League table thanks to a debut goal from £36m deadline day signing Anthony Martial, who rounded off a 3-1 win over bitter Northwest rivals Liverpool.

Daley Blind benefited from a clever Red Devils training ground free-kick routine early in the second half after a dismal first 45 to open the scoring. Ander Herrera then won and scored a penalty with 20 minutes to go following Joe Gomez’s naive foul to double the home team’s lead.

Christian Benteke’s brilliant overhead kick then appeared to set up a grandstand finish, but talented teenager Martial’s sublime and skillful footwork saw him make the impact Louis van Gaal hoped for from the bench.

With the David de Gea transfer saga now over and his future committed to United, Louis van Gaal restored him between the sticks with Sergio Romero dropping to the bench.

There were two other Man Utd changes with Michael Carrick replacing Morgan Schneiderlin in front of the back four, while Marouane Fellaini got the nod over new boy Martial to lead the attack in Wayne Rooney’s absence.

A heavy and humbling home loss to West Ham last time out, where Philippe Coutinho was sent off, forced Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers, meanwhile, into a change of personnel. Danny Ings made his full debut for the Merseysiders with Roberto Firmino operating alongside him and Benteke.

United could not capitalise on mistakes from Simon Mingnolet and the visiting back four early on, with that defensive unit looking anything but assured in possession. Matteo Darmian’s dangerous cross up from right back after Carrick found him brought the only really dangerous moment of a lacklustre first-half.

Offside flags thwarted Liverpool attacks with Ings never getting close enough to Benteke. There was simply no tempo to a traditionally tempestuous and frantic fixture, with slow approach play and all-round caginess making for an eyesore of a football match.