Arne Slot has made the perfect start to life as Liverpool coach with his 3-0 win over Manchester United making it a perfect start to the season as clubs all around the world take a two-week break for internationals.
The Dutch coach will be over the moon (even if he doesn’t always look like it) to be heading into the international break with a perfect record.
In fact, while Liverpool are second in the Premier League on goal difference, with Manchester City in first, the Merseysiders have made as good a start to the season as possible, scoring seven goals while conceding none.
The nature of the win over United was such that the commentators heralded it as the sign of more doom and gloom descending on Old Trafford and its constituents.
Arne Slot explains how Liverpool bypassed their midfield
Slot, by all accounts, is the perfect man to succeed Klopp and he’s doing a very good job of making good on such huge expectations.
It was impressive how Liverpool played against Ipswich and Brentford and with no disrespect to them, they’re not on the same level as United much less Liverpool.
So it was a huge test for Slot on Sunday and, boy, did he pass with flying colours.
Speaking to Sky Sports pundits Roy Keane and Daniel Sturridge, Slot was candid about his tactics and approach to taking on United.
In his press conference, the Liverpool coach suggested United are playing differently to last season. When asked by former Red Sturridge what he noticed, Slot provided a brilliant response.
He said: “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.”
