Raphael Varane changed the face of Manchester United's defence on Monday night.

Having twiddled his thumbs on the bench during the humiliating defeats to Brighton & Hove Albion and Brentford, the four-time Champions League winner was finally unleashed for the Liverpool clash this week.

And while it might have been Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford who dominated the headlines for their goals in the impressive 2-1 win, it was the superb performance of United's Varane-led defence that truly made the difference.

Varane shines vs Liverpool

With Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw swapped out for the dominant Frenchman and Tyrell Malacia, the base of Erik ten Hag's side looked transformed from the incoherent mess that had kicked off the new campaign.

You really did get the feeling that the mere presence of Varane pervaded a sense of confidence amongst the United back-line, cutting a stark contrast to the unease radiated by Maguire and his disappointing form.

The proof was in the pudding, too, with Varane producing a superb set of statistics with SofaScore clocking him in at four tackles, eight clearances, two interceptions and 100% of aerial duels won.

Varane booked for Diaz foul

Even one of few blemishes on Varane's number sheet from the Liverpool win, earning a booking after 27 minutes, was a cause for celebration amongst United fans due to the manner in which he picked it up.

Don't get it twisted, getting slapped with a yellow card in less than half an hour is seldom something to shout about, but perhaps an exception can be made when it sends a clear message to an opponent.

And that's exactly what Varane gave to Luis Diaz as he essentially turned the Liverpool magician into a rag doll with a move that might well have earned a booking, but most certainly showed what he's all about.

So much so, in fact, that photographs of Varane essentially looking as though he was carrying Diaz in a firefighter's lift quickly went viral across social media.

The 29-year-old even wanted to get in on the act himself, sharing the very same photo as part of a three-image Instagram carousel where he wrote: "Tonight we showed our passion and fought like we should !! Old Trafford you were incredible."

And it didn't escape the gaze of supporters who couldn't help laughing at the image's inclusion, piling in with comments that racked up thousands of 'likes' in the process.

Varane turns Diaz into a rag doll

So come on, you know you want to see the incident itself. Well then, don't let us get in your way, because to say that Varane made it very clear to Diaz that he should think twice about taking him on would be quite the understatement.

No wonder everyone's making memes comparing it to a WWE move - ouch!

Don't mess with Varane

To be fair to Diaz, the ex-FC Porto star has made a largely seamless transition to life in the Premier League and the United defeat is one of just a handful of games where he's been unable to make a real impact.

Plus, that had a lot more to do with United's defence being watertight - in no small part thanks to Varane's impact, of course - than the Colombian necessarily dropping a performance to forget.

However, regardless of Varane tickling everyone with a particularly merciless foul, the main takeaway should be that the Red Devils already looked much improved with the World Cup winner at the heart of their defence.

Diaz certainly won't be the last forward to get humbled by Varane this season, that's for sure.

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