Liverpool comfortably beat Man United at Old Trafford
Liverpool extended their recent dominance over Manchester United with a convincing 3-0 win at Old Trafford on matchday three of the Premier League on Sunday, 1st September. Arne Slot became the first manager for the Reds to beat the Red Devils in his first game in charge in the 21st century, courtesy of a Luis Diaz brace and Mohamed Salah’s solitary strike.
The Dutchman’s outfit is now the only side to not concede a goal so far in the Premier League and one of just two teams alongside Manchester City to have won all three games so far in the campaign.
Here are the three talking points from a rather easy win:
1. Salah extends his fabulous record versus United
Mohamed Salah’s goal in the second half was his 15th against Manchester United in the Premier League. It is the highest tally in the English top flight since the 1992 season when it was rebranded to its current name.
Of the last 23 goals that Liverpool have struck against United, Salah has either scored or assisted 17 times. It is equivalent to 74%, as per Opta, and shows just how much the African superstar loves playing against his bitterest rivals.
He even said that the Reds could have won with a heavier margin and labelled the game as being ‘easy’ in his post-match interview.
2. Slot’s Liverpool already has an identity
Arne Slot had done his homework well and knew where to hurt Manchester United. He passed his most difficult test since taking over Jurgen Klopp with flying colours and has already developed an identity for his Liverpool side.
Luis Diaz has performed superbly under him and the early signs so far are for him to justify the price the club paid for him when he arrived from Porto, while the likes of Mohamed Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold amongst others are playing at their peak too.
The former Feyenoord boss has settled into his new job very quickly and has also won over the dressing room far earlier than most would have anticipated. It will be exciting to see if this translates into silverware later on in the season.
3. Gravenberch was impressive in midfield
Ryan Gravenberch did a superb job in the engine room next to Alexis Mac Allister and it was his performance that helped Liverpool maintain a defensively solid foundation, which proved too strong for a toothless Manchester United side.
The former Bayern Munich midfielder won 100% of his tackles, made one clearance, four interceptions and six recoveries, according to FotMob’s data. He won 70% of his duels as well, two of which led to the chances which Liverpool’s offensive department eventually converted.
More Liverpool News
- Turkish giants keen to sign Liverpool star this summer; talks underway
- Wantaway Liverpool star keen to secure Arne Slot approval this summer; keen to fulfil Anfield dream
- Liverpool re-ignite interest in £100m PL star; talks underway
The 22-year-old’s performances so far in the season have looked good and his development will go a long way in deciding what kind of midfielder Liverpool invest in next year having missed out on Martin Zubimendi this summer.
