Anthony Martial takes to Twitter to thank Manchester United

The creative midfielder was part of the starting XI that struggled to unlock Liverpool in the first half.

There were cheers for De Gea as he took his place in goal and the Spaniard was given a gentle re-introduction to life at Old Trafford as United immediately put the visitors on the back foot.

If Anthony Martial had dared to dream about how his Manchester United debut would pan out he would probably have dismissed as idle fantasy any notion of scoring a wondergoal to down their fierce rivals Liverpool. “But he did alright – he scored a marvellous goal, and I’ve also seen that physically he can play in the Premier League”, added the Manchester United manager in praise of the youngster’s performance.

Liverpool are three points further back after a match that exposed some familiar defensive flaws as well as a lack of attacking spark.

The Red Devils travel to Holland on Tuesday to face PSV in their first Champions League group stage fixture since the 2013/14 season. Van Gaal made a half-time change with Ashley Young replacing Memphis Depay and he made an immediate impact, winning a free-kick on the edge of the Liverpool box.

“It’s a positive thing that the players are coming to me and not only Carrick or Rooney, other players”, van Gaal said. Our aim is to be the best but now we are five points behind Manchester City.

Manuel Pellegrini expects Kelechi Iheanacho to play a significant role in Manchester City’s title challenge after the Nigerian teenager’s first goal for the club secured a dramatic 1-0 victory at Crystal Palace. Weak performance from Liverpool, Rodgers has p… But I keep my focus, I keep calm and I keep my hard work. But we have to say, he’s 19 years old and he’s out of France and it is very hard for a 19-year-old player to adapt to the culture of England, the Premier League and the high rhythm of the game here but he has a great talent and he can improve.

Van Gaal’s mood was in stark contrast to his opposite number Brendan Rodgers, who addressed journalists in a dejected whisper in his post-match media conference. “When you make a goal like Anthony you can not wish for more I think”, van Gaal said.

“This is the biggest game in the country and arguably the world”.