“I Don’t Care What Slot Says” – Amorim’s Fiery Response to Liverpool Manager’s Criticism
Ruben Amorim has issued a defiant response to Arne Slot’s comments about Manchester United’s tactical approach in their 2-1 victory over Liverpool, bluntly stating: “I don’t care what Slot says or what people say about our team.”
The United manager reacted strongly to criticism about his team’s defensive block and extensive use of long passes: “I can watch the match and say we can play better and we need to play better in the future, but sometimes you need to adapt to the game. I don’t need anyone to evaluate my team. I can evaluate my team myself, and it’s completely clear to me that we must play better with the ball, and we’ll try to do that in the upcoming match.”
“This is a Challenge for Us” – Slot’s Analysis of United’s 59 Long Balls
The Liverpool manager immediately addressed United’s style after the defeat: “It’s always difficult to play against a team that defends deep and mainly uses long passes. If before the match someone told me we’d create so many chances against a team with such a low defensive line, I’d say we wouldn’t lose. But we lost.”
Ahead of the next round, Slot continued the theme: “The main change compared to last season is the style teams use against us. 178 long balls in the first seven rounds was already a lot, but then there were 59 in just the match against United.”
He emphasized: “This is a special challenge for me as a coach and for the team. I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about how we adapt and adjust to what we’re seeing this season. We need to make this direct style from opponents work for us, and we’re doing everything in training to make that happen.”
Statistical Evidence: Premier League Teams Targeting Liverpool’s Weakness
Slot’s observations appear justified – Premier League teams seem to have found Liverpool’s vulnerability. According to Opta data, Liverpool’s opponents have attempted 507 long passes this Premier League season, representing 20.3% of all passes against them.
This represents both the highest number and highest percentage faced by any team in the league. Teams are using long balls to minimize situations where Liverpool can apply their pressing game, and Slot’s team appears unsettled in winning second balls.
How Manchester United Imposed Their Uncomfortable Pattern on Liverpool
The lack of control and basketball-like nature of matches have emerged as key problems for Liverpool at the start of the season. This represents perhaps the main difference between the current team and the championship-winning sides of recent years.
Before the United match, Slot had spoken about the need for control: “I think the style of play with long passes and second balls isn’t characteristic of teams that have won the Premier League in the last 10-20 years. If you want to win, you need to play differently.”
In the end, Amorim specifically targeted chaotic situations with second balls and attacks following them. Liverpool clearly struggles in this scenario, as demonstrated by United’s first goal – a long pass, series of aerial duels, and follow-up:
An interesting feature of United’s approach in these moments was that players didn’t position themselves for knockdowns in case of winning aerial duels, but immediately saturated the second-ball zone. It was as if the aerial duel itself was merely the beginning of their planned chaos.
