Schweinsteiger agrees with Jurgen Klopp's 'ridiculous' Liverpool claim

Bastian Schweinsteiger

, former

midfielder, said that the

Red Devils

were in "survival mode" during their 2-1 win over Liverpool and that Erik ten Hag will not be completely happy with how they played.

United got back on track after losing to Brighton and Hove Albion and Brentford in a big way on Monday. They beat

in the league for the first time since 2022, thanks to goals from

and Marcus Rashford.

The result took some of the pressure off Ten Hag, the first United manager to win his first game against Liverpool in that job. But Schweinsteiger, who played 35 times for United between 2015 and 2017, thinks that Ten Hag might not have been impressed with how United won.

United only had 29.6% of the ball at Old Trafford, and Liverpool had 17 shots to United's 12. Schweinsteiger says United is still a long way from being able to play with the best. On Tuesday, he told

BBC Radio 5 Live

, "Of course I like United, and I'm thrilled they won the game."

"But did they do a great job? I wouldn't say that if I compared them to the best European teams. I thought Liverpool was the better team because they had the ball and control more often. But United did one thing very well: they had the right attitude about the game and the right team spirit."

"It's not as good as the best football in Europe, where I live. They did very well against the ball; they fought, ran, and had the right mentality. But after 20 minutes, it was clear that Liverpool was the better team. If they had been able to complete their last passes, they would have won the game."

Schweinsteiger knows Ten Hag from the Dutchman's time coaching Bayern Munich II between 2013 and 2015 and insists he is the right man to bring success to Old Trafford, though he feels United is yet to adapt his style of play. "I think they have got a very good manager now with Erik ten Hag; I know him quite well from Munich because he was our second team manager back in the day," he added.

"I think they have the right man in that position. But was it the way United want to play football? I don't think so; it was survival mode. In the long term, he wants to have a team that plays different football. It will take some time, but definitely, he is the right man for that position."

Ten Hag made several big calls when selecting his team for the game, leaving out club captain Harry Maguire and talismanic striker Cristiano Ronaldo as Bruno Fernandes was handed the armband. Fernandes looked rejuvenated after his quiet start to the season, recording a team-high 66 touches and creating two chances on Monday, the joint-most among United players.

And while Schweinsteiger was impressed with the midfielder's display, he highlighted the need for United to fit him and Ronaldo into a coherent system. Asked whether the duo could play together, he said: "Well, they're both Portuguese, so I don't know, it's tricky for the national team then! There, they have to play together.

"You see, Bruno Fernandes was running a lot; he made meters and meters and meters. But if you have a player like Cristiano Ronaldo, you have to know what you get and what to expect. He's not the player who runs a lot defensively, but he scores you 15 goals. So, you have to know that."

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