Arne Slot has suggested Liverpool's problems in Sunday's 2-2 draw with Manchester United were mainly down to the Red Devils' tactics.
The Reds looked off the pace for long periods, with United much better than their recent three-match losing streak in which they had failed to score a goal.
“We started very well. We had three open chances in the match and then there was a period when it was more difficult for us,” Slot told BBC Radio 5 Live.
“It's difficult when you play against quality players who play in a low block, alone [Rasmus] Hojlund and [Amad] Diallo as the attackers.
“It's not always easy to find the gaps and that's what happened. Being 1-0 down makes it even more difficult, but I was very happy with the mentality we showed afterwards when we were 2-1 up. “
In addition to analyzing the performance of his own team, Slot also wanted to give credit to the visitors.
Lisandro Martinez had initially given United a 1-0 lead in the second half and although they briefly trailed 2-1, Diallo provided the moment of the match to make it 2-2 late on.
“They have quality with the ball and without the ball. They are difficult to play through. It was so open when they started playing. You can see better how good they are when they try to play,” Slot told Match of the Day.
'The first 75 minutes [Andre] Onana played the ball long and every free kick they got, they just shot forward. In the last 15 minutes you could see how good they are when they play across the ground.
“People forget all the chances we had. They got the open chance [Harry] Maguire. We had a lot more chances than them, but in the end we certainly could have lost it with the Maguire chance.”
That didn't last long.
Seven minutes after the deficit, Liverpool are level!
Cody Gakpo has scored in three consecutive Premier League games for the first time in his Liverpool career. #LIVMUN pic.twitter.com/v8TM9icG7i
— Opta analyst (@OptaAnalyst) January 5, 2025
Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk echoed his manager's comments by downplaying the home side's poor performance.
“It could have been a lot worse, if we're absolutely honest with ourselves. They had a big chance in the end and it could have been a lot worse than where we are now,” he told BBC Radio 5 Live.
“I'm definitely disappointed to have dropped points at home, but it is what it is and we have to move on and we will.
“We found the 2-1 and then it's about controlling the game and keeping the ball longer than three and four passes.
“Sometimes we lost the ball too easily and then we were more open than we should have been. We are not perfect, we are still learning and we have to learn from this.”
Van Dijk also dismissed the idea that Liverpool players had underestimated United, who were 14th in the table before the match.
“That's all media talk. It has nothing to do with us,” he said. “We have prepared for a very tough match, as we saw today.
“We didn't think about that. We look at the next match, we don't look at the rankings.”
Comments