Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah and Luis Diaz were able to “exploit” Manchester United due to Arne Slot’s tactical acumen, according to Rio Ferdinand.
Liverpool achieved a 3-0 win at Old Trafford on Sunday, marking Slot’s successful debut against the Red Devils.
Diaz scored twice in the first half, with Salah assisting on his second goal, while Salah added another in the second half with a left-footed shot past Andre Onana.
Casemiro was heavily criticized for the loss after losing possession to Ryan Gravenberch, leading to Liverpool’s first goal, and being intercepted by Diaz for the second. Ferdinand noted that Slot’s strategy to utilize his wingers effectively against United was crucial to Liverpool’s triumph.
On the ‘Rio Presents’ show, Ferdinand, alongside former United teammate Owen Hargreaves and co-host Joel Beya, explained that the positioning of Salah and Diaz enabled them to “exploit” the situation. He suggested that by regaining possession high up the pitch, they could capitalize on the opportunity and score, which they did twice.
“Let them exploit, that’s what we used to do,” Ferdinand remarked. “Initially, let them get ahead so that if we do win the ball back, their full-backs are too high and can’t recover in time. In fact, two of the goals, the full-backs aren’t even visible.”
Despite Noussair Mazraoui’s strong performance at United, the Moroccan international was absent when Diaz scored the first goal. On the other side, Diogo Dalot left Salah unmarked, allowing him to score his third goal of the season, validating Slot’s strategy.
Slot has had an unbeaten start with Liverpool, who are currently second in the Premier League and the only team yet to concede a goal this season. Meanwhile, Erik ten Hag is under pressure after losing his first two games and scoring only twice.
