‎Arne Slot Slams Manchester United's 'Long-Ball Tactics' After Liverpool's Costly Anfield Defeat

Arne Slot described Manchester United as a “long-ball team” after Liverpool’s 2-1 home defeat on Sunday. The result marked United’s first victory at Anfield since 2016 and their second consecutive Premier League win under Ruben Amorim, who was appointed in November last year.

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‎Arne Slot brands Man Utd a “long-ball team” after Liverpool’s 2-1 defeat at Anfield as concerns grow over the Reds’ set-piece defending.

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‎Liverpool began the season strongly, winning seven consecutive matches across all competitions, including five in the Premier League. Their momentum faltered at the end of September with a 2-1 loss to Crystal Palace, followed by a 1-0 defeat to Galatasaray in the Champions League. Consecutive losses to Chelsea and Manchester United have now left the reigning champions without a win in four matches for the first time since 2014.

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‎Bryan Mbeumo opened the scoring early for United before Cody Gakpo equalized for Liverpool in the 78th minute. Harry Maguire restored United’s lead just six minutes later with a powerful header, sealing the win. The result lifted United to ninth in the Premier League table, while Liverpool slipped to fourth, four points behind leaders Arsenal.

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‎Slot admitted his disappointment with the defeat but praised his team’s ability to create chances against what he considered a defensive and direct United approach. Speaking to BBC Match of the Day, he said: “It is always difficult to play against a team that defends in a low block and mainly plays the long ball. It makes it even more difficult when you go one down after one minute when one of our players is on the floor. We created enough chances to score more than one goal, but again we conceded two, and one was from a set piece.”

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‎The Liverpool boss also voiced his frustration at the team’s ongoing set-piece issues. “We hardly conceded a chance apart from the goals, but it’s very difficult to win when you have a negative balance on set pieces,” Slot added. The Reds have now conceded several goals from dead-ball situations this season, including their recent defeats to Crystal Palace and Chelsea.

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‎Controversy surrounded United’s opening goal after Mbeumo scored moments after Alexis Mac Allister went down clutching his head. The referee, Michael Oliver, allowed play to continue, sparking anger among Liverpool fans, some of whom accused the official of bias. However, former referee Keith Hackett defended the decision, telling Football Insider that the play was fair and that VAR could not intervene as there was no “clear and obvious error.”

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‎Liverpool will aim to recover their early-season form as pressure builds following their fourth straight defeat. Slot will be keen to address the team’s vulnerability on set pieces and rediscover their defensive stability ahead of their next Premier League fixture.