Arne Slot reveals his winning Liverpool philosophy is inspired by Jurgen Klopp’s greatest rival

By: Muhammad Saeed on October 02, 2024 / comment : 0 HITC, news

Arne Slot has had an impressive start to his tenure at Liverpool, with The Reds sitting top of the Premier League table.

A shock defeat at Anfield to Nottingham Forest is the only blemish on Slot’s Liverpool record so far, which includes an impressive Champions League victory against AC Milan.

Liverpool also travelled to Old Trafford to demolish Manchester United, with the Dutch manager showing no signs of faltering under the pressure of replacing Jurgen Klopp.

Many expected Slot to struggle in his first season in English football, especially after an underwhelming summer transfer window. Liverpool failed in their pursuit of Martin Zubimendi, with Federico Chiesa’s arrival at Anfield from Juventus being the only signing.

Slot has excelled in his new job despite all of these potential pitfalls. This has led to many suggesting that he has rightly continued where Klopp left off. However, the Dutchman has revealed that his football philosophy is actually inspired by one of Klopp’s great managerial rivals.

Arne Slot reveals his admiration for Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona

In an interview with UEFA.com, Slot explained that his managerial philosophy was developed during his playing career when Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona team dominated European football.

He said: “I was not so fast, some people called me slow, and that helped me maybe a bit with game insight. Individually, I couldn’t go around three players. I always needed my team-mates where I could play them my passes.

“I was lucky enough that then the Barcelona team started playing, and I saw similar patterns, not in terms of how we play it, but more: OK, this ball which we sometimes play – and Barcelona constantly plays – leads to success. And that’s helped me create my own philosophy about football.”

The tiki-taka style of Guardiola’s Barcelona continues to influence football around the world to this day. Teams at all levels attempt to play the ball out from the back to replicate the highly successful philosophy that has influenced Slot.

For Liverpool fans, though, it may sting that their new coach was inspired by the manager who prevented Klopp from winning even more at Anfield.

Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola’s storied managerial rivalry

Klopp delivered Liverpool their first league title in 30 years in 2019/20, but if it wasn’t for Guardiola’s Manchester City, it could’ve been much more.

In the season before this league triumph, Liverpool amassed 97 points, which would’ve been enough to win the title in every season since 2019/20. However, Guardiola’s side pipped Klopp to the title by a single point.

The same story played out in the 2021/22 season when Klopp’s side finished with 92 points, only topped by Guardiola’s City, who came from two goals down to beat Aston Villa 3-2 and win the title once again.

Klopp is a legend at Liverpool for his achievements at the club, but his trophy cabinet would look even more impressive if not for Guardiola and City. It remains to be seen whether Slot’s admiration of Guardiola will see him topple Liverpool’s great modern-day rival.

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Jamie Carragher slams Manchester United’s ‘awful’ defence against Tottenham, with one star ‘completely out of position’

By: Muhammad Saeed on October 02, 2024 / comment : 0 HITC, news

Manchester United were humbled once again in the Premier League on Sunday, losing 0-3 to Tottenham at Old Trafford.

United fans watched on in horror as Brennan Johnson gave Spurs an early lead, with second-half goals from Dejan Kulusevski and Dominic Solanke completing a miserable afternoon for the Red Devils.

Sunday’s defeat was United’s third in the league this season, leaving the club languishing in 13th place in the table.

This start has piled even more pressure on Erik ten Hag, with the Dutchman’s future once again on the minds of Sir Jim Radcliffe and INEOS.

However, performances on the pitch are more immediately concerning, given the money spent on the squad this summer.

Ten Hag oversaw a sizeable investment into his defence in the summer transfer window, signing Noussair Mazraoui and young starlet Leny Yoro.

Midfield anchor Manuel Ugarte also joined United from PSG to sure up the defence, but consecutive 3-0 home league defeats have raised questions about the success of this transfer spree.

One signing in particular, though, has garnered the most scrutiny, with Premier League legend Jamie Carragher delivering a damning verdict of his performance against Tottenham.

Jamie Carragher slams ‘out of position’ Mattijs de Ligt after defeat against Tottenham

Speaking on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football, Carragher was far from impressed with Mattijs de Ligt’s performance against Tottenham.

Carragher said: “Their [Manchester United’s] rest defence is awful, it always has been behind the ball when they lose possession.

“In that first half, de Ligt, a player they’ve brought in for huge money, is completely out of position the whole time. So he ends up having to go flying into challenges and into situations where he could get a yellow card or a red.”

Spurs’ opener came from a remarkable run from de Ligt’s Dutch teammate Micky van de Ven, but this could’ve been prevented if de Ligt had covered the available space.

His questionable positioning also led to big chances for Johnson and Timo Werner, with only poor finishing sparing the United defender’s blushes.

Clearly, de Ligt must improve in the areas that Carragher has highlighted. However, his individual stats should give some reassurance to ten Hag and the United fans.

Matthijs de Ligt’s stats show that he can still be a key player for Manchester United

Despite his performance against Tottenham, the Dutchman has shown some promise in his Manchester United career so far.

De Ligt joined United from Bayern Munich for £45 million and has featured in all but one game this season for his new club.

In the Premier League, de Ligt has completed 90% of his passes and is yet to be dispossessed by the opposition. He has also won 69.2% of his aerial duels, suggesting that he is providing quality both in and out of possession.

Some aspects of his game are concerning, though. He has only won 50% of his tackles, which will only be emphasised more if his positioning continues to be an issue.

However, if de Ligt can address his positional problems, his quality on the ball and his physical strength suggest that he should be an important player for Erik ten Hag and United.

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