Liverpool boss Arne Slot publicly exposed three weaknesses in Erik Ten Hag’s tactics that helped his team to an impressive win over the Red Devils at the Old Trafford on Sunday.
Slot’s Liverpool tore United into shreds, recording a resounding 3-0 away from home to continue their perfect start to the Premier League season.
Luis Diaz’s first brace and Mohamed Salah’s well-composed finish in the second half were more than enough to earn Slot his first competitive win over the Red Devils in his first attempt, breaking Bobby Paisley’s 49-year-old record.
Arne Slot’s analysis
Speaking in an interview after the win, the former Feyenoord boss analysed Manchester United’s tactics. and how his team exploited their weaknesses.
He observed that United’s pressing has become less effective, their full-backs are vulnerable, and their midfield lacks aggression, with these three factors contributing to Liverpool’s dominant victory.
Slot began, as quoted by The Sun,
“Last season, there were man marking on the midfield, and they had a press with the seven and 11 (the wingers). So with the striker, and one of the wingers jumped with him.
“This season, they are more with a 9 and 10 press, so they’re more in a 442. So that’s different, of course. I see them, in my opinion, working harder if the ball is being played through them, so they run more. That’s at least what I saw in their first games.
“Their style is also – this is maybe last season, I don’t remember that well – but their full-backs, nine out of ten times, are really high, and then Casemiro comes in between. So, if you pick up the ball and you can keep Diaz and Mo Salah high, then you’re constantly in a one-on-one situation.
“Then you need midfielders that can run, and we had three of them today that kept running, and if they arrive in a duel, they are aggressive enough to win it. So that was, I think, one of the main reasons why we could win today.”
While scoring three unanswered goals at Old Trafford seems like a big achievement, Mohamed Salah expressed surprise, suggesting that he thought they could have scored even more against their longtime rivals.
Arne Slot’s men will now look to continue this impressive run when they welcome Nottingham Forest after the International break.
