MANCHESTER, England – Arne Slott extended his 100% win record as Liverpool manager with a 3-0 win over Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday, putting Erik ten Hag under renewed pressure at the club.
Luis Diaz’s two first-half goals — Trent Alexander-Arnold had his first ruled out for offside by VAR — and Mohamed Salah’s second sealed an easy win for Liverpool, who are joint top of the Premier League with Manchester City on nine points. United’s defeat was their second in three games this season and Ten Hag’s side head into the international break with doubts about whether they can challenge for Champions League qualification after spending more than £180m on new players in the summer.
Ten Haag humiliated by slot
Ten Hag, now in his third season as Manchester United manager, was humiliated by Slot in his third game as Liverpool manager. The game was dominated by the story of two Dutch managers who moved from the Eredivisie to manage the Premier League’s two biggest clubs, but it was Slot who looked more like a manager who had been in charge for years than Ten Hag.
Last season’s FA Cup win over Manchester City at Wembley helped keep Ten Hag in charge at Old Trafford, but all the issues that threatened his position last year resurfaced in the defeat to Liverpool.
For too long under Ten Hag, United were overwhelmed in midfield, lacked a threat up front and struggled at full-back. Some of that can be attributed to personnel, but the players have changed over time and the problems have not gone away.
Casemiro lacks the mobility to thrive at Premier League level, while Bruno Fernandes is too far forward, leaving huge gaps in the centre of the pitch. Ten Hag had plenty of time to correct that flaw, but didn’t, and so Liverpool dominated the central third of the pitch.
Up front, Ten Hag have continued to field the out-of-form Marcus Rashford, who is yet to score a goal this season. Summer signing Joshua Zirkzee has also looked a bit out of form and mentality, while Ten Hag’s substitutions (Rashford for the full 90 minutes but the impressive Alejandro Garnacho out) have drawn more scrutiny.
Ten Hag said last week that Slot had inherited a better team at Liverpool than he had at United, but he now has plenty of time to make changes. This performance was worrying for the former Ajax manager as it looked like a new season, same old problems. — Mark Ogden
Casemiro’s disastrous 45 minutes
Casemiro has two years left on his contract at Old Trafford, but this could mark the end of his Manchester United career.
Towards the end of the first half — with Liverpool up 2-0 — the Brazilian lobbed a ball forward with a glimmer of hope to no one in particular. There was a loud groan from the stands, and the nearest United player, Garnazzo, waved his arms in frustration.
It was the final act of a truly terrible performance when Ten Hag decided that he could not allow Casemiro to continue playing during the break. In his place, 20-year-old Toby Collyer made his first official appearance. In fact, Ten Hag wanted to use Manuel Ugarte, a £50m signing from Paris Saint-Germain, who was watching from the director’s box.
Fiery defensive midfielder Ugarte was on the pitch before kick-off but was not registered in time to play. After Casemiro’s horror show, it is safe to say he will be involved when United next play Southampton after the international break.
Casemiro lost the ball 13 times in just 45 minutes and made two errors that led to goals. First, he played the ball to Ryan Gravenberch in midfield in the build-up to Dias’ first goal. Then, just before Dias could have swept over Salah’s cross for the second, he was dispossessed on the edge of his own penalty area. In between, there was a series of errors, including a throw-in that bounced off his shin and back and was ruled out of play.
It was a performance that will long be remembered, but for all the wrong reasons. –Rob Dawson
Salah troubles United again
Salah has scored in each of Liverpool’s last five Premier League games at Old Trafford. No player has scored on home turf with such regularity against Manchester United in the Premier League era.
But it wasn’t just Salah’s second-half goal that marked his performance for Liverpool. He also set up Dias’ first goal and almost got a second just a minute after making it 3-0.
The 32-year-old said after the game that this season would be his last at Liverpool, with his contract set to expire in the summer. With so much that can happen between now and May, it would be foolish to dismiss the possibility of Liverpool and Salah agreeing a new deal.
But if he were to leave Anfield, the relief United would feel would be just as great as the loss Liverpool would feel.
The former Chelsea and AS Roma striker became a Liverpool legend during his seven years at the club and will go down as one of the greatest Premier League attackers ever, drawing comparisons with Thierry Henry, Eric Cantona, Didier Drogba and Erling Haaland. — Ogden
Liverpool’s midfielder growled and snarled at United’s sloppy
However poor Casemiro may have been, it’s understandable to look on with envy at the way Liverpool’s midfield is cleverly managed.
Both teams fielded three players in midfield: United’s Casemiro, Fernandes and Kobbie Mainoo; Liverpool’s Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai. While Slot’s men looked like cogs in a well-oiled machine, United’s red shirts looked like crisp wrapping paper blowing aimlessly in the wind.
Gravenberch was excellent, winning 100% of his tackles and recovering the ball six times. He could also get forward, and when he did, Mac Allister would take up space in front of the back four. When Mac Allister got forward, Gravenberch would come in.
There were far too many instances where Casemiro was caught high up the pitch, with Mainoo and Fernandes following him forward. Just six minutes in, Virgil van Dijk’s one pass collapsed most of United’s midfield, and it was fortunate that Alexander-Arnold’s goal was ruled out for offside.
1:17
Nicole: Manchester United’s problems are much more serious than Casemiro
Steve Nichol says Casemiro cannot take full responsibility for Manchester United’s 3-0 defeat to Liverpool.
On any other day, Mainu might have been sent off before the half-time break after being tackled twice while desperately trying to plug a gaping hole in the middle of the pitch.
At one point Sir Jim Ratcliffe had his head in his hands and the worry for United’s new co-owner was that while Slot had managed to turn the midfield around in just three games, the structural problems of Ten Hag’s team had been evident for more than 18 months. Oh, and Slot failed to sign the midfielder he wanted in the summer because MartÃn Zubimendi decided to stay at Real Sociedad. — Dawson
The new United regime looks gloomy and Liverpool are in chaos
There has been a major shake-up at United in recent months, with Ratcliffe’s INEOS group taking over football operations from the Glazer family, the club’s largest shareholder. Ratcliffe hired Omar Berrada as CEO, Dan Ashworth as director of football and Jason Wilcox as technical director, and all four were in the directors’ box as Liverpool tore United apart.
Berrada arrived from Manchester City with a reputation for wanting quick results and clear signs of progress, and Ashworth and Wilcox have been busy in the transfer market for the first time in a while, signing and releasing several players. But United have been so poor against Liverpool that you will wonder how long it will take for things to improve.
Ten Hag is not in danger just yet, but if United continue to struggle heading into the October international break, the presence of managers like Gareth Southgate and Thomas Tuchel will give a new manager options should he want to make a change. — Ogden
Liverpool’s bold 4-2-4 has worked, but can it work against the best teams?
Slot went for a bold 4-2-4 formation, with Gravenberch and Mac Allister covering Liverpool’s central third. Both players looked impressive and dominated their areas of the pitch, but the opposition were confused in midfield. At times, Liverpool dominated the midfield.
This formation worked well for United, but it is unlikely that Slot will deploy the same game plan against the likes of Manchester City or Arsenal. Slot was rewarded for his bold stance against United, but City and Arsenal will offer a much greater threat in all areas of the pitch, so expect a more solid Liverpool midfield for that game. — Ogden
