The Reds were quietly confident going into the game against their arch rivals, having started the season very well.
However, few had expected such a stroll in the park at Old Trafford, with Arne Slot thoroughly enjoying his first taste of one of English football’s biggest games. 3-0 it finished and it should really have been more.
Two men who know all about this fixture and just what winning it means are Virgil van Dijk and Rio Ferdinand.
As a Man United legend, Sunday’s defeat obviously hit hard for Ferdinand. And the former centre-back has been picking the bones out of it in the days since.
Virgil van Dijk of Liverpool during the Premier League match between Manchester United FC and Liverpool FC at Old Trafford on September 01, 2024 i...
Rio Ferdinand reveals Virgil van Dijk chat
Ferdinand is one of English football’s most celebrated centre-backs. Recognised as one of the best ever Premier League players in his position, Van Dijk is often compared against Ferdinand.
Quite who you think is better in that regard likely depends on which team you support. But what is clear is that the two men have great respect for each other.
Van Dijk was once again at his imperious best at Old Trafford and speaking to his ‘Rio Ferdinand Presents’ YouTube channel, Ferdinand has been speaking about the Dutchman.
After dissecting exactly where things went wrong for United and Erik ten Hag, the pundit revealed a chat that he’d had with the Liverpool captain in the lead up to the game.
“I was filming with Virgil the other day and I was saying to him ‘do you guys train on the fundamentals of defending as much as we used to,'” he said.
“We used to do one-v-ones and 20 crosses after a training session to defend and stuff like that. It looks like now it’s more about getting the ball.
“There’s so many differences for defenders now, we were about make sure your basics are honed and make sure you’re honing them all the time. He said it’s different.”
Virgil van Dijk is now the benchmark
As much as Ferdinand likes to believe that he is still the man to beat in terms of Premier League defenders, this little insight perhaps proves why that is no longer the case.
The former England man was indeed a fine defender, that is inescapable. United built winning teams on the back of his partnership with Nemanja Vidic.
However, Ferdinand himself goes on to say that he’d find it difficult to train and play the way Van Dijk has to at Liverpool today.
As a result, there should be little doubt that the Reds skipper could do what Ferdinand did, but not the other way around.
Ferdinand may have just inadvertently said what we already knew to be true: Virgil is the new benchmark for centre-backs in England. In Europe, even.
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