Arne Slot offers expert tactical breakdown of how to beat Man Utd after Old Trafford humiliation
Posted By Joe E
September 3, 2024
7:04 am
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Arne Slot offered a perfect dissection of Manchester United’s tactics as he explained how Liverpool roared to their comfortable 3-0 win at Old Trafford on Sunday.
A Luis Diaz double was followed up by a strike from Mohamed Salah as Liverpool ruthlessly punished a string of mistakes from United en route to their third victory of the season.
After the game, Slot revealed there was no good fortune about Liverpool’s goals as he broke down exactly how his side exploited United’s weaknesses.
“Last season, they were man-marking on the midfield, and they had a press with the seven and 11 [the wingers],” Slot explained on Sky Sports. “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.”
A ruthless showing from Liverpool / James Gill – Danehouse/GettyImages
Virgil van Dijk also offered an insight into his individual battle with fellow Dutchman Joshua Zirkzee, who has come under fire from some United fans as he continues to adjust to life at Old Trafford.
“Joshua Zirkzee plays now as a striker for them but I know he likes to drop and receive the ball to his feet,” Van Dijk said. “We know they like to do this passing in behind but we nullified it quickly.
“Our game plan worked. We kept patient.”
Van Dijk went on to insist that Liverpool “should have” won by five or six goals but was happy to accept a 3-0 victory over their fierce rivals.
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