Liverpool boss Arne Slot gave a clear breakdown on how his side pulled apart Manchester United in their 3-0 win on Sunday.
The visitors celebrated a convincing victory over their arch rivals at Old Trafford thanks to a double from Luis Diaz and Mohamed Salah’s strike.
Afterwards, Slot explained to Sky Sports how they did it. Here we dissect his analysis…
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FREE TO WATCH: Highlights from Manchester United’s match against Liverpool in the Premier League
Press high
It was a trait under Jurgen Klopp and it will be a trait under Slot. Whatever the opposition, wherever the game is played, Liverpool will try to press high and win the ball as close to their opponents’ goal as they can.
“We always want to press high. That’s what Jurgen did. That’s what we try to continue,” said Slot. “And we scored a few goals from a high press – [including] one disallowed.”
Indeed, all three Liverpool goals and Trent Alexander-Arnold’s ruled out effort came from turnovers, with Liverpool winning possession in the final third seven times compared to Man Utd’s three.
Across the first three rounds of Premier League action, Liverpool have made more pressures in the final third than any other side.
It is front-foot football under Slot.
Expose Man Utd’s high full-backs
Roy Keane was critical of Man Utd’s full-backs pushing too far forwards at times and Slot said he knew Liverpool would have chances with the way United’s full-backs were positioned.
“Their full-backs are sometimes really high and then Casemiro comes in between [the centre-backs],” explained Slot. “So if you pick the ball and you keep Luis Diaz and Mo Salah high you’re constantly in a one-v-one situation.”
Man Utd’s average positions show how their full-backs pushed forward, while Liverpool’s Luis Diaz (LW) and Mohamed Salah (RW) stayed high
Diaz has been electric with the ball at his feet so far this season, adding four more dribbles attempted to his tally after totals of five against Ipswich and three against Brentford. However, Salah took on these one-on-one opportunities with real verve at Old Trafford, he doubled his tally of attempted dribbles in each of the first two games with his four here.
Liverpool were able to run at Man Utd’s centre-backs and Casemiro with the United full-backs high up the pitch
Man Utd’s defence was exposed again when Casemiro misplaced a pass for the second goal
Liverpool had a 4-vs-2 against Man Utd when Kobbie Mainoo was robbed of possession for the third goal
Run hard and fight hard in midfield
To force those turnovers, Liverpool needed high energy and intensity in the middle of the park. They got just that from Ryan Gravenberch, Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister, who each ran over 11km, with Szoboszlai topping the sprint stats.
That trio, led by Szoboszlai, were to the fore in the possession-won rankings too.
“You need midfielders that can run and we had three of them today that kept on running, and if you arrive in a duel they are aggressive enough to win it,” said Slot. “That was one of the main things why we could win today.”
Forwards chase back to help
That midfield was supported by backtracking forwards. Asked whether it was a gamble to leave Diaz and Salah high, Slot said: “It’s only a gamble if they play through or over… but if [Diaz and Salah] then sprint back it’s not a gamble.
“Today we saw a lot of moments where our whole team, but especially our forwards, track back so aggressively and that is what we need if you want to win these games. If you don’t the defenders come in underload, that’s not what you want if you play against these players because Man Utd have a lot of quality.”
Diaz and Salah both recorded tackles and interceptions, while Salah also made a clearance. Subs Cody Gakpo and Darwin Nunez continued the approach, with a tackle and clearance each too.
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Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville discuss the future of Mohamed Salah and claim he is up there with Liverpool greatest-ever players
Szoboszlai’s tweaked role
A subtle change on the ball? “In the last two games Dominik Szoboszlai played from the right, today we played him from the left,” said Slot.
The switch was evident in Szoboszlai’s heatmap – and the midfielder topped the chance-creation stats, carving out three opportunities from open play.
Dominik Szoboszlai played from the left against Man Utd, whereas his starting position had been on the right in Liverpool’s previous game
Maintain high standards
While United were sloppy on the ball, Slot demanded more from his side at half-time to make sure they did not make such costly mistakes.
Speaking about his half-time team-talk, Slot said: “We showed them three moments where in one situation that led to a chance of Noussair Mazraoui when Lucho [Diaz] was not tracking back as he should and the moment where Trent [Alexander-Arnold] played a sloppy pass towards Alisson.
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Take a look at Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville’s live reactions to all the big talking points in Liverpool’s 3-0 win over Manchester United at Old Trafford
“Those moments can change a game here at Old Trafford so you need to be focused and concentrated every second if you want to win here.”
With the combination of quality, Slot’s tactics, Man Utd’s mistakes and those high standards Slot is driving, Liverpool secured that valuable win – and their fans will now hope it can be a launchpad for a season of success.
