Arne Slot seemed delighted as he spoke to Sky Sports after Liverpool recorded a 3-0 win over Manchester United at Old Trafford.
The Dutchman made extremely light work of his first visit to Old Trafford, as a double from Luis Diaz and another strike from Mohamed Salah embarrassed Erik ten Hag on his own patch.
After the 3-0 win, Arne Slot chatted to Sky Sports about the tactical ideas behind Liverpool‘s victory, with one comment leaving Roy Keane visibly shocked…What Arne Slot said to Roy KeaneUnlike most managers, the 45-year-old seemed more than happy to explain his tactical preparation ahead of the trip to Old Trafford at length.
Slot told Keane, Daniel Sturridge and Dave Jones that he specifically ordered his players to target Manchester United high in midfield, having noticed that Ten Hag’s backline is often left hugely exposed whenever there is a sudden turnover in possession around that No.6 position.
Upon hearing the fairly simplistic nature of the Dutchman’s tactical homework for Sunday’s trip to Old Trafford, Keane seemed visibly disgusted, saying: “Did you know it would be a free run at them if you won the ball high, really?”The Irishman clearly was not happy to hear about how easily opposition coaches can dissect Ten Hag’s side, to say the least.
Slot’s plan worked to perfection, with Casemiro losing the ball for both of Diaz’s strikes, before being replaced at half time by Toby CollyerLiverpool made a mockery of Manchester United
Ten Hag got one over on Liverpool last season in the FA Cup when securing a 4-3 win, eventually winning the trophy as Manchester United seemed to turn the tide, but demons of old came back to haunt the Dutchman today.
There were shades of Liverpool’s 5-0 win at Old Trafford from October 2021 in the opening 45 minutes as Mohamed Salah, Diogo Jota, Luis Diaz and Dominik Szoboszlai regularly flew forward, heading into the interval with a 2-0 lead and never, ever appearing in danger of throwing those three points away.
After an unconvincing 1-0 win against Fulham and a 2-1 defeat to Brighton preceded this result, Ten Hag undoubtedly has work to do to show Sir Jim Ratcliffe he is the man to take Manchester United forward.
