Ronald Koeman provides verdict on ‘lucky’ Arne Slot after Liverpool’s 3-0 thrashing of Manchester United

Ronald Koeman has remarked that Liverpool manager Arne Slot is “lucky” to have such high-quality players at his disposal after his side’s impressive 3-0 victory over Manchester United at Old Trafford.

Slot is drawing praise on Merseyside for leading the Reds to three consecutive wins without conceding a goal, the latest being a dominant performance against their fierce rivals.

The win was secured with a brace from Luis Díaz and a goal from Mohamed Salah.

Liverpool’s attacking trio of Díaz, Salah, and Diogo Jota proved a constant threat, exploiting United’s vulnerabilities with their swift counter-attacks, and have now scored nine goals this season.

Koeman, observing the game between his fellow Dutch managers Arne Slot and Erik ten Hag, kept an eye on some of his own players, including Mattijs de Ligt, Joshua Zirkzee, Virgil van Dijk, Ryan Gravenberch, and Cody Gakpo, all of whom featured in the match.

“I watched because of the many Dutch players,” he said, as reported by the Sun.

“But of course I also looked at it from a manager’s point of view, Arne Slot is doing a slightly better job.

“But if you have the front three that he has, you must realise you are lucky.”

Ronald Koeman spent a year in charge of Liverpool’s rivals, Everton, but was dismissed in 2017 following a string of poor results that saw the Toffees fall into the relegation zone.

He then took over as head coach of the Netherlands, where he served for two years before a troubled spell at Barcelona.

Koeman was also sacked by Barcelona in 2021 and later returned to the Netherlands job.

This summer, Koeman’s compatriot, Arne Slot, arrived at Liverpool and has enjoyed a superb start to his tenure, despite having signed only two senior players so far.

The former Feyenoord coach has impressed many with his analytical approach to Liverpool’s performance.

He has also provided insightful observations on Manchester United’s weaknesses during his appearances on Sky Sports.

“Their full-backs, nine out of ten times, are really high, and then Casemiro comes in between” Slot said.

“So, if you pick up the ball and you can keep Diaz and Mo Salah high, then you’re constantly in a one-on-one situation.

“Then you need midfielders that can run, and we had three of them today that kept running, and if they arrive in a duel, they are aggressive enough to win it.

“So that was, I think, one of the main reasons why we could win today.”

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