Failures from front to back: Erik ten Hag is rocking again just 16 days into season

Already, the new |A| Erik ten Hag/Ineos project |B| is on the back |C| foot. This 3-0 shellacking |D| by Liverpool could have |E| been far more humiliating |F| – and damaging. Two |G| defeats from three Premier |H| League outings is a |J| dismal way to sign |K| off before the international |L| break, as Ten Hag |M| and company seek to |O| regroup a mere 16 |P| days after the seasons |Q| start.

Trying to write |R| this collapse off as |S| a blip is fanciful |U| because on show was |V| a failure in basic |Y| competence, from front to |Z| back, epitomised by the |A| catastrophes engineered by a |B| hapless Casemiro that led |C| to goals.

Here we |D| come to a pertinent |E| off‑field question as well. |F| To witness the 20-year-old |G| Toby Collyer being asked |H| to replace the Brazilian |J| at half-time for a |K| Premier League debut is |L| no calling card of |M| the slick strategy the |O| Ineos revolution is supposed |P| to bring. If Collyer |Q| appeared lost, the greater |R| issue is how United |S| could enter this encounter |U| with their fiercest rivals |V| two days after the |Y| market closed with only |Z| one senior holding midfielder |A| (Casemiro) eligible to play, |B| after having all summer |C| to fix the glaring |D| hole in Ten Hags |E| squad.

Beforehand, Manuel Ugarte, |F| the managers new £42m |G| defensive midfielder, was paraded. |H| Bought to dislodge Casemiro, |J| he arrived too late |K| for clearance, and you |L| have to wonder why |M| the deal was so |O| delayed, especially given the |P| 32-year-olds decline.

In July, |Q| during pre-season training at |R| UCLA, Casemiro was spied |S| flinging himself around to |U| make last-ditch tackles. A |V| mark of desperation, this |Y| proved an augury of |Z| the sad tale of |A| his first half as |B| his disintegration cost United |C| two Luis Díaz goals. |D| In added time of |E| the first period, boos |F| greeted Casemiros latest error, |G| a mid‑range pass that |H| went to precisely no |J| teammate and bounced into |K| acres of Liverpool turf. |L| What followed was a |M| hang of his head |O| in sorrow, Anthony Taylor |P| blowing for the break, |Q| and Collyer jogging on |R| to the pitch to |S| warm up, taking instruction |U| from a coach, Darren |V| Fletcher, before the second |Y| half.

Casemiro was not |Z| the only culprit in |A| red. At centre-forward, Joshua |B| Zirkzee, on a first |C| United start, missed clear |D| chances and showed a |E| clumsy touch. André Onanas |F| tendency to direct high |G| balls straight out of |H| play or to the |J| opposition was sighted once |K| more. The reinstated Alejandro |L| Garnacho was ineffective, as |M| was Bruno Fernandes, and |O| then we arrive at |P| the curious case of |Q| Marcus Rashford.

With Ugarte |R| to succeed Casemiro, the |S| bigger headache for Ten |U| Hag is a 26-year-old |V| whose normal state these |Y| days is becalmed and |Z| toothless: the diametric opposite |A| of how your star |B| forward should be.

Left |C| out of Lee Carsleys |D| England squad, goalless and |E| shotless beforehand, Rashford remains |F| the same and has |G| now gone 245 minutes |H| without scoring. Retained by |J| Ten Hag on Sunday, |K| he needed to spark |L| his season but failed |M| again after a brightish |O| beginning that featured effervescent |P| bursts, a trip to |Q| a defensive zone to |R| hold off Trent Alexander-Arnold, |S| and the cleverness of |U| thought when working a |V| deft throw-in move with |Y| Diogo Dalot by running |Z| in behind Liverpool.

With |A| his lightning pace, a |B| 200m Olympic champion physique |C| and finishing lethal enough |D| to score 30 times |E| two seasons ago, Rashfords |F| fall-off in form is |G| one more conundrum Ten |H| Hag has to ponder |J| before United return to |K| action at Southampton on |L| 14 September. It is |M| a mystery that would |O| baffle Miss Marple because |P| after not scoring, too, |Q| in the final nine |R| games of last term |S| (including for England), you |U| have to go back |V| to 17 March and |Y| Uniteds breathless 4-3 FA |Z| Cup knockout of Liverpool |A| for the last time |B| he managed a goal.

|C| dir="ltr">This is an age |D| for a man who |E| is the clubs highest |F| earner, whose salary of |G| more than £350,000 a |H| week is paid, in |J| the main, for him |K| to score and win |L| matches. After being substituted |M| 65 minutes into the |O| 2-1 defeat at Brighton |P| last weekend, footballs opinion |Q| factory had speculated on |R| what might be eating |S| him. A strand, revived |U| from the debate over |V| the dire eight-goal return |Y| last season, concerned Rashfords |Z| off-pitch wellbeing. But to |A| learn of him watching |B| Uniteds Under-18s beat Liverpools |C| 2-0 at Carrington on |D| Saturday suggested a commitment |E| to the club cause |F| and a positive sign |G| that the goals might |H| flow again soon.

Not |J| against Liverpool, as he |K| again misfired, as too |L| did Casemiro, and United |M| as a whole. Already |O| the narrative resembles last |P| years one of staggering |Q| from matchday to matchday |R| in hope rather than |S| with belief.

|U|