“It wasn’t criticism”: Arne Slot Liverpool backtracks on salty Man United comments

Liverpool boss Arne Slot has walked back on his whiny comments about Manchester United after his side’s 1-0 defeat last weekend.

United pulled off a sensational victory over Liverpool at Anfield, handing Slot and his players a fourth consecutive defeat across all competitions.

Bryan Mbeumo broke the deadlock in the early stages of the game before Cody Gakpo drew the hosts level in the 78th minute.

Despite having the momentum and home advantage, it was United who scored the next goal, with Harry Maguire towering over Ibrahima Konate to head the ball into the back of the net.

After the final whistle, Slot appeared frustrated as he criticised United’s approach. The Dutchman took a swipe at Ruben Amorim’s tactics, accusing the Red Devils of relying too heavily on long balls. He also voiced displeasure over United’s decision to bench Benjamin SeSko, who had started in previous matches.

The Liverpool gaffer has received some criticism for his whiny comments and now, he has seemingly backtracked on them.

Slot told TNT Sports , “We faced a team that had their game plan very well in order.”

“There was a bit of a debate over what I said after the game, but it was meant to be a compliment… so, they had a low block and played a lot of long balls.”

“I was asked why it was difficult, and that was the reason.”

Slot added, “It wasn’t criticism, it was me trying to explain why the game was made difficult. If you win the ball back after they’ve played it long, there are 11 players behind the ball. I would add that, to a certain extent, I was positive that we created as many chances as we did.”

“Against [Crystal] Palace, we were able to create a lot against a low block, the same against United, but not many games since I’ve been in charge have we been able to create many chances against a 5-4-1 low block.”

“It wasn’t meant as a criticism at all.”

“It was a very smart game plan and certainly their last three signings – two of them for sure – had an impact on the game, in [Matheus] Cunha and [Bryan] Mbeumo.”

United are back in action on Saturday when they welcome Brighton and Hove Albion to Old Trafford.

Featured image Michael Regan via Getty Images

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