Jurgen Klopp's Carabao Cup-winning kids make a mockery of Erik ten Hag's injury complaints - what Man Utd would give to have an identity like bitter rivals Liverpool

Ten Hag had taken a chance on youth the day before by handing 19-year-old Omari Forson his full debut against Fulham to cover the absence of Hojlund. It meant there were four academy graduates in the line-up (including three from the 2022 FA Youth Cup winning side) and four more on the bench.

No one could accuse the Dutchman, whose young Ajax team took the Champions League by storm, of not believing in young players. The difference was that while the likes of Van Dijk, Wataru Endo and Luis Diaz led the way for Liverpool, United's senior players shrunk.

Marcus Rashford was anonymous at centre-forward and Bruno Fernandes was incapable of sparking any danger, save for long-range shots. Casemiro and Harry Maguire were clumsy in the tackle and Victor Lindelof again looked lost trying to deputise for Shaw, whose absence for several months has left United with no natural left backs.

After the Carabao Cup triumph, Klopp said: "I got told outside you don't win trophies with kids. Write it new." The German was referring to former Liverpool defender Alan Hansen's infamous declaration on Match of The Day in August 1995 after watching United sink to a 3-1 defeat at Aston Villa on the opening day of the season.

Those words came back to haunt Hansen at the end of that season when a United team containing David Beckham, Paul Scholes, Gary Neville, Phil Neville and Nicky Butt went on to win the Premier League title and FA Cup.

But Hansen's words have been taken out of context. He meant you can't win anything with just kids. The catalyst of that great double winning side, after all, was Eric Cantona, who was still suspended at the time for kicking a fan but who galvanised the team when he returned in October.

United have a lot of exciting young players such as Alejandro Garnacho, Kobbie Mainoo and Hojlund, but they badly lack a talismanic figure like Cantona. Current captain Fernandes has not scored a league goal since November, while Rashford is a shadow of the brilliant player who scored 30 times in all competitions last season.

Another huge difference between United and Liverpool could be seen in the way the two teams are set up and work as a unit. Reds youngsters are educated in the art of 'Gegenpressing' from an early age, allowing the likes of Bradley and Bobby Clark to fit so seamlessly into Klopp's team. But United's senior players seem incapable of pressing together, allowing Fulham to repeatedly play their way through them at Old Trafford.

Fernandes is a big part of the problem as he is a free spirit, often blindly chasing down opponents and ruining United's shape. Jamie Carragher said recently: "He's emotional. He runs 30 yards to close the goalkeeper down. People sometimes get kidded by it and say, 'look at him working hard'. No, he's killing the team."

Neville has also criticised Fernandes' free role. "He must be told to go and do what you want. Ten Hag is giving him the freedom to go there, there, there. And that means you can never have a combination or a pattern because you've got your main midfield player everywhere on the pitch."

Ten Hag has acknowledged that not all of his squad fully get his methods or understand what he wants them to do, which becomes a huge problem when just a few key players like Shaw, Hojlund or Lisandro Martinez are unavailable.

"They know what the routines are but definitely things are changed [with injuries]," he said after losing to Fulham. "Not everyone [gets the ideas], other players coming in, different identities, different skills, that is what we have to adapt as a team."

But the fact that a number of players are unable to implement his style and demonstrate the 'automatisms' he talks about ultimately falls on him. More than 18 months into the job, it is still unclear what Ten Hag's playing philosophy is. It seems that with a full squad available, he wants his team to play on the front foot, with Martinez and Andre Onana starting moves from their own area.

But when the Argentine is absent, as has been the case for most of the season, United seem only capable of playing on the counter, leaving Onana with little option but to launch the ball forward with long punts.

And without Hojlund, they have no one capable of holding the ball up and bringing others into play, leading to the hurried attacks they fashioned in the closing stages of each half against Fulham.

The opposite is true of Klopp and Liverpool, as well as Pep Guardiola and Manchester City, and Mikel Arteta's Arsenal. United's main rivals in the race for the top four, Aston Villa and Tottenham, also have clear identities that can be seen even when they have deep injury problems.

Villa's high defensive line may have worked against them when they were beaten 3-2 by United at Old Trafford in December but Unai Emery's tactics have served his side well and they are eight points ahead of the Red Devils.

Tottenham managed to play United off the park at Old Trafford last month despite missing nine players, dominating possession in the 2-2 draw. Ange Postecoglou's side continued to abide by their swashbuckling principles even when they were down to nine men against Chelsea in November, the Australian famously responding to a question about his team's high line by saying "It's who we are." But exactly who are United?

There also appears to be a lack of connection between Ten Hag and his squad. The Dutchman certainly does not have the charisma of Klopp, cutting a far more serious figure. Instead, he seems to be more about details than emotions.

He reportedly introduced 83 principles of play when he took charge of United, many of which related to how to act when out of possession. He talks a lot about 'following rules and principles' and the importance of discipline.

But his message is not cutting through. His team lack direction and a defined playing style and there have been huge breaches of discipline, from Jadon Sancho calling him out on social media to Rashford turning up late to meetings and missing training after a wild night out in Belfast.

Whether he or the players are to blame is unclear, as he is far from the first highly-respected manager to fail to get a tune out of United. But there is undoubtedly a lack of connection between him and the squad and the proof is in the results and the performances.

The connection that Klopp has created with Liverpool's players and fans, however, is plain to see. How else could the team pull off logic-defying European comebacks against Borussia Dortmund and Barcelona or be the only team to pip City to the title in the last six years? Indeed, how else could they beat Chelsea on Sunday when half of the 11 players left on the pitch had barely any senior experience?

"This result just tells you that football isn't all about money," Jamie Carragher said after Klopp's latest triumph at Wembley. "It's about getting the right players and creating a connection between those players, the manager and the supporters. Liverpool have that in abundance."

There is little evidence of a strong connection between Ten Hag and his squad, which explains why his team look so fragile when just a few players are removed. With Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Sir Dave Brailsford assessing the club in granular detail after INEOS finally completed their partial takeover, the manager must urgently show evidence of a bond forming in the next few weeks.

If he can't, he will be joining Klopp in departing the Premier League at the end of the season, with only a tiny slice of the silverware and an even smaller portion of goodwill.