Liverpool manager Arne Slot has cleared up that he didn\u2019t mean to be negative about Manchester United after the Reds\u2019 defeat to them, telling Ruben Amorim he had a \u201cvery smart game plan.\u201d<\/p>\n
Slot showed himself to be a bit whiny after United beat Liverpool<\/strong><\/a> 2-1 on Sunday. He suggested the reason his Reds side found it hard \u2013 and lost their fourth game on the spin \u2013 was because of the low block and long balls played by United.<\/p>\n \u201cIt 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 are on the floor,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Now, ahead of Liverpool\u2019s next game, a Champions League tie with Eintracht Frankfurt, Slot has cleared up what he meant.<\/p>\n He told TNT Sports<\/a>: \u201cWe faced a team that had their game plan very well in order.<\/p>\n \u201cThere was a bit of a debate over what I said after the game, but it was meant to be a compliment\u2026 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.<\/p>\n \u201cIt wasn\u2019t criticism, it was me trying to explain why the game was made difficult. If you win the ball back after they\u2019ve 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.<\/p>\n \u201cAgainst [Crystal] Palace, we were able to create a lot against a low block, the same against United, but not many games since I\u2019ve been in charge have we been able to create many chances against a 5-4-1 low block. It wasn\u2019t meant as a criticism at all.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a very smart game plan and certainly their last three signings \u2013 two of them for sure \u2013 had an impact on the game, in [Matheus] Cunha and [Bryan] Mbeumo.\u201d<\/p>\n MORE ON LIVERPOOL FROM F365: Liverpool clearly did find it difficult against United and though they made chances and should probably have scored more than they did, they only managed the one goal.<\/p>\n With Slot now identifying that he\u2019s lost two games in quick succession against a low block, it would not be a surprise to see him make changes to try to better break them down.<\/p>\n Other sides changing their own tactics to try to hurt the Premier League title holders would also not be surprising.<\/p>\n
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