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Ten Hag EXPOSED as Arne Slot uses his one-time Ajax prodigy against him

Ten Hag EXPOSED as Arne Slot uses his one-time Ajax prodigy against him

Peter Staunton 03 Sep 2024, 19:15 Last modified: 03 Sep 2024

Liverpool head coach Arne Slot delivered a Dutch masterclass against compatriot Erik ten Hag on Sunday as his side easily outpowered Manchester United on their own patch.

Despite Ten Hag having a lavishly assembled unit at his disposal, including TWO MORE of his former Ajax side in new signings Noussair Mazraoui and Matthijs de Ligt, Slot's men had far too much for a beleaguered Man Utd.

Two goals from Luis Diaz and one more from Mohamed Salah helped the Merseysiders extend their Premier League record for the 2024/25 season to three wins from three with Old Trafford becoming a particularly fruitful stomping ground for the Reds.

Key to the Reds' demolition job was Slot's use of YET ANOTHER one of Ten Hag's Ajax contingent, ironically the best-performing former Ajax player on the day with the United squad stacked with players who once played for the Dutch giants.

Andre Onana, Mazraoui, De Ligt, Lisandro Martinez, Christian Eriksen and Antony were all stars for the Amsterdam side but it was Ryan Gravenberch who shone brightest.

The Liverpool midfielder is finding his best form under Slot, undergoing a complete rejuvenation in the early weeks of the season having struggled to make an impact under Jurgen Klopp in his debut campaign.

His effectiveness should have come as no surprise to Ten Hag, who fielded the Dutch international over 100 times in his Ajax days.

Former Ajax player Mario Melchiot analysed the game for ESPN and concluded that he was surprised by the extent that Gravenberch ran roughshod over Man Utd given that his game should have been well known to Ten Hag.

Melchiot: Ten Hag EXPOSED by Slot

“I was surprised by the way Ten Hag got exposed by Slot because they both know each other, they played against each other a number of times because of the Dutch background and in the league in Holland," he said.

"Then we have to remember Slot has a player in Gravenberch who was the player that was very instrumental in the system when Ten Hag was on board [at Ajax].

"So he knows a lot about that kid, the way he goes right through the middle and the way Slot played him was because he knew that when Ajax has the ball, we stretch the game wide open. When we lose the ball we make it very compact.

"When you see Liverpool has the ball they stretch them. The way they stretch them is the way they use the speed up front and break, they hit them on the break so fast and Man United became exposed. Where did they become exposed? Where was the biggest problem? Right in the middle."

Liverpool's midfield dominance

Gravenberch, Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister had complete control of the midfield with Man Utd flop Casemiro being substituted at half time. That horror show, however, was not solely down to the Brazilian, says Melchiot, who claimed the setup on the part of Ten Hag meant Casemiro was doomed to fail.

“Casemiro… look, we all know about the history of his playing and the things that he has achieved," he said. "Great. But if you want to play with a player like that, you have to keep it compact.

"If you don't do that, you're exposing him yourself so it's not only that Casemiro might have a bad game if you looked at the first half but you're also exposing him by letting your game be stretched wide open. So I don’t think it was technically well set up."

https://youtu.be/STzmvqW4p5E?si=XAY3CZQFEWn6OVMs

Melchiot identified the midfield as the key battle ground with Liverpool's domination of that area of the pitch leading the former Chelsea star to conclude there were chasms between the two teams even in the early weeks of the season.

“[Kobbie] Mainoo is a young player, he needs some help from the experienced players. But the experienced players around him can only talk to him when they are comfortable themselves," he said.

"But when they are struggling with the space around them, then it becomes a difficulty and I think that was the biggest surprise for me, that Slot really knew in advance what Ten Hag’s weaknesses were and he really exposed them, in a really big way.

"Yes, [Joshua] Zirkzee had an opportunity [to score] but away from that, Liverpool could have won with more goals and it should never have happened. This is one of the biggest games in England and it clearly didn't look like it.”