Liverpool head coach Arne Slot gave a clear analysis of how his side dismantled Manchester United in their 3-0 win on Sunday.

Thanks to a brace from Luis Diaz and a goal from Mohamed Salah, the visitors celebrated a convincing victory over their arch-rivals at Old Trafford.

Slot then explained to Sky Sports how they did it. Here we analyse his analysis…

Press up

This was already a feature under Jürgen Klopp and will remain a feature under Slot. No matter who the opponent is and where the game is taking place, Liverpool will try to press high and win the ball as close to the opponent’s goal as possible.

“We always want to press high. Jürgen did that too. We’re trying to continue that,” said Slot. “And we scored a few goals through high pressing – one of which was disallowed.”

In fact, all three of Liverpool’s goals and Trent Alexander-Arnold’s disallowed effort were the result of lost possession. Liverpool won the ball back seven times in the final third, compared to Man Utd’s three.

In the first three rounds of the Premier League, Liverpool have applied more pressure in the final third than any other team.

It is front foot football under slot.

Unmask Man Utd’s tall full-backs

Roy Keane criticised ManU’s full-backs for sometimes pushing too far forward and Slot said he knew Liverpool would have chances because of the position of ManU’s full-backs.

“Their full-backs sometimes stand very high and then Casemiro comes in between them (the centre-backs),” Slot explained. “So when you pick up the ball and keep Luis Diaz and Mo Salah high, you are constantly in a one-on-one situation.”

Diaz has been electric with the ball at his feet so far this season, adding four more dribble attempts to his tally after five against Ipswich and three against Brentford. Salah, however, has taken those one-on-one opportunities with real panache at Old Trafford, doubling his tally from the first two games with four dribble attempts here.

Run hard and fight hard in midfield

To force those turnovers, Liverpool needed a lot of energy and intensity in midfield and that’s exactly what they got from Ryan Gravenberch, Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister, who each ran over 11km, with Szoboszlai leading the sprint statistics.

This trio, led by Szoboszlai, also topped the list of possessions won.

“You need midfielders who can run and we had three of them today who kept running. And when you get into a tackle, they’re aggressive enough to win it,” Slot said. “That was one of the main reasons we were able to win today.”

Strikers chase back to help

This midfield was supported by retreating strikers. Asked if leaving Diaz and Salah high up was a risk, Slot said: “It’s only a risk if they play through or over… but then if (Diaz and Salah) sprint back, it’s not a risk.”

“Today we saw a lot of moments where our whole team, but especially our strikers, pushed back very aggressively and that’s what we need if we want to win these games. If you don’t do that, the defenders come short-handed and that’s not what you want when you play against those players because Man Utd have a lot of quality.”

Diaz and Salah both recorded tackles and interceptions, while Salah also cleared a ball. Substitutes Cody Gakpo and Darwin Nunez continued the approach, also recording a tackle and a clearance each.

Szoboszlai’s changed role

A subtle change on the ball? “In the last two games Dominik Szoboszlai played on the right, today we let him play on the left,” said Slot.

The move was clearly visible in Szoboszlai’s heatmap – and the midfielder led the chance creation statistics by creating three opportunities from open play.

Maintain high standards

While United were sloppy on the ball, Slot demanded more from his team at half-time to ensure they avoided such costly errors.

Addressing his team at half-time, Slot said: “We showed them three moments, including a situation that led to a chance for Noussair Mazraoui when Lucho (Diaz) didn’t run back as he should have, and the moment when Trent (Alexander-Arnold) played a sloppy pass towards Alisson.

“Moments like this can change a game here at Old Trafford. That’s why you have to be focused and concentrated every second if you want to win here.”

With the combination of quality, Slot’s tactics, Man Utd’s mistakes and the high standards that Slot sets, Liverpool secured this valuable win – and their fans will now hope that this victory can be the start of a successful season.