Arne Slot refused to join in Man Utd joke as I saw mood at Liverpool training ground change

For supporters, that is the overriding aim this weekend, and while Slot and his players may privately hold similar notions as they look to take another sizable step towards glory, the Liverpool boss maintained diplomacy and professionalism when asked about United and Amorim's difficult start to Old Trafford life.

"I think every manager sympathises with every other manager because we all know how much pressure this job brings," Slot said. "That is no different for him or me. This is a job with pressure, it is also something we like, otherwise we should not do this. He has done so well with Sporting. He has a good squad so he will eventually bring the best from them

"You can only look at the score and then sometimes it is difficult to convince players but then you can look at the performance. I have watched Tottenham versus Manchester United and for performance, they did a lot of things well.

"But every manager in this league, they don’t need my advice. But if results go against you, you try to focus on performance. I try to show the players how small the margins are. We were 2-1 up against Leicester when Mo had a big chance, we lost the ball and they were one on one with Alisson.

"That was the 70th minute. Margins are really small because it is a low scoring sport. United's second-half performance against Newcastle was really good. There have been moments when they have played really well."

While Slot pays respect to United's display in the second period of their 2-0 defeat to Newcastle on Monday night at Old Trafford, a more private analysis with his inner circle could not have missed the gaping midfield holes and the inability to carry out the tactical plan of Amorim's 3-4-3 framework.

The spaces that opened up, particularly in wide areas against Eddie Howe's side, will be manna-from-Heaven for a title-chasing Reds side if they reemerge at Anfield this weekend. With Mohamed Salah, Cody Gakpo and Luis Diaz having all now contributed 42 goals between themselves this term, such gaps in the opposition rearguard could prove to be fruitful for Liverpool as they go in search of a league double over the dishevelled Red Devils.

There is also an element of Slot feeling that more flies are caught with honey and his talking-up of Tottenham's adventurous style eventually saw them play right into the Dutchman's hands before Christmas when Ange Postecoglou refused to tweak the approach only to be pummeled into a 6-3 home defeat. There was some suggestions after the press conference that Slot was doing similar here as he praised the ability of a United side who head into the weekend as the 14th best in the division.

That being said, a home win was widely expected to be on the cards when Erik ten Hag's floundering team visited Anfield 13 months ago only to keep their hosts at bay with a dogged defensive performance. A total of 34 shots were coughed up that day but they rarely looked like being plunged into the same sort of turmoil of their two previous visits, where they were beaten 7-0 and 4-0.


"The things I have said many times, if you want to win a game then you have to outwork the opponent," Slot says. "Then, second of all, you need a good balance in set-pieces, especially in the big games against quality players.

"Then, if that is balanced out or that is the same, then it is mostly about the quality of the players, so if you have 34 shots then that tells me that maybe you need a bit of luck as well then maybe sometimes during a game. Maybe it was also really well defended by United; I don't remember the game really well, so maybe they threw themselves every time in front of the ball – that's also part of winning games.

"We need to be in the best possible way prepared because every game in the Premier League is a difficult one, but especially a game where you face quality players that, I think, will feel this is a chance for them to make their fans proud again. So, if they do the same – winning at West Ham United away – the fans will like it, but it's even more important for them to win here at Anfield. Then, quality players are always dangerous if they set their mind to something, so we have to be really, really, really well prepared to beat United."

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