Arne Slot provided a perfect dissection of Manchester United’s tactics as he explained how Liverpool roared to a comfortable 3-0 win at Old Trafford on Sunday.
A Luis Diaz brace was followed by a Mohamed Salah strike as Liverpool mercilessly punished a series of United mistakes en route to their third win of the season.
After the game, Slot revealed that there was no good fortune LiverpoolThe team’s goals when he broke exactly how his team exploded unitedthe weaknesses
“Last season, they marked men in midfield, and they had a press with the seven and 11 (wings),” Slot explained to Sky Sports. “So with the striker, and one of the sides jumped with him.
“This season they’re more in 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 played through them , so they run more, at least that’s what I saw in their early games.
“His style is also – maybe it’s last season, I don’t remember very well – but his full-backs, nine times out of ten, are very tall, and then there’s Casemiro in between. So if you get the ball and you can keep Diaz and Mo Salah up, then you’re constantly in a one-on-one situation.
“Then you need midfielders who can run, and today we had three of them who keep running, and if they come into a duel, they are aggressive enough to win it. I think that was, I think, one of the main reasons why could win today.”
Virgil van Dijk also offered an insight into his one-on-one battle with Dutch compatriot Joshua Zirkzee, who has been criticized by some United fans as he continues to adapt to life at Old Trafford.
“Joshua Zirkzee plays as a striker for them now, but I know he likes to drop and get the ball at his feet,” Van Dijk said. “We know they like to do that from behind, but we overruled that quickly.
“Our game plan worked. We were patient.”
Van Dijk insisted Liverpool “should have won” by five or six goals, but was happy to accept a 3-0 victory over their fierce rivals.
