Ditching both your legendary talisman and team captain for a do-or-die showdown with your club's biggest rivals who humiliated your side 9-0 on aggregate last season takes enormous courage, but Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag is a tough nut to crack when it comes to making bold decisions. 

The English powerhouse, who plumbed new depths last week with a 4-0 humiliating loss at Brentford, lined up against Liverpool without Cristiano Ronaldo and Harry Maguire, arguably their most high-profile stars, at a thunderous Old Trafford on Monday night. 

While up to 10,000 United fans protested against the toxic ownership of the club by the Glazer family before kick-off and the chants continued throughout the blockbuster clash, Ten Hag's new-look Red Devils responded to the seemingly unrelenting negativity with a rare, brilliant performance full of discipline, commitment and quality that left Liverpool utterly stunned.

Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford, two English youngsters who have endured poor form in recent outings with United, enjoyed a bit of revival without the suffocating presence of the iconic Ronlado. In sharp contrast, Liverpool produced an error-prone display as their defense was repeatedly picked apart by the lively pair, who took advantage of Jurgen Klopp's side's reckless high line.  

After a slick combination featuring Raphael Varane and Anthony Elanga, 22-year-old Sancho duly found himself unmarked in the box and deservedly put United in front after just 16 minutes. Sancho's goals means Klopp has seen his struggled team go 1-0 down for seven consecutive league games.  

Much was made of United's troubles on and off the pitch, Liverpool's injury crisis were almost over-looked. But several of their key players, including Thiago Alcantara, Diogo Jota and Naby Keita, were forced to miss out on this crucial game.

Liverpool's vulnerability at the back was again exposed eight minutes after the interval when Rashford raced clear to shot past goalkeeper Alisson after receiving Anthony Martial's fantastic pass. It was Rashford's 60th Premier League goal and it speaks of the 24-year-old's skill as he is only the tenth United player to reach that landmark. 

Liverpool showed some resurgence in the latter stages of the game and Mohamed Salah reduced the deficit for Liverpool nine minutes from time, but the Egyptian striker could not prevent Ten Hag from clinching his ever first Premier League victory. 

"It means a lot. Our first two games didn't go so well and had it turn it around today," beamed Ten Hag. "Last week hurt a lot and we knew we had to bounce back and tonight we showed the fans what we can do. 

"I said to the players, we have to act, not talk a lot. Make sure you are a team and battle and be brave. It's not only about spirit out of possession. Sometimes strikers think they cannot do it because they have to save their energy for offensive actions. Nowadays it's a demand and that is what you saw. It makes me happy Rashford and Sancho scored the goals.", he added.

The morale-boosting win was United's first of the new season and snapped a four-game losing streak dating back to last season. The result also ended United's eight-game winless run against Liverpool in the league.  

Ten Hag knew only too well that his decision to drop veteran Ronaldo and Maguire would have brought serious consequences had United lost. Instead, his team proved to the world that they have what it takes to compete at the highest level with the younger generation. 

There is no doubt Manchester United still have a long way to go, but at least for now, the dark clouds have begun to fade away from Old Trafford.