Liverpool versus Manchester United was as soon as . Sunday afternoon’s match may showcase since Roy Hodgson’s temporary Anfield tenure.
If Ruben Amorim is to navigate a path to United’s first Anfield triumph since 2016, he’s prone to get there by way of route one. Certainly, Liverpool supervisor Arne Slot’s preparation for United’s go to included exhibiting his gamers proof of how opponents are prioritising the long-ball sport towards them.
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Solely three Premier League golf equipment have performed extra lengthy passes than United within the first few weeks of this season. United’s 391 is 121 greater than Manchester Metropolis, and greater than 10 per match greater than Liverpool.
Amorim just isn’t averse to embracing the lengthy throw into the penalty space, too. United have utilised that weapon on 10 events to date of their seven league fixtures.
Amorim will be forgiven if he follows a blueprint that , when Harry Maguire missed a late probability to seal what would have been thought of a shock 3-2 win.
Harry Maguire got here so near stealing a late victory for United at Anfield in January – Getty Pictures/Carl Recine
United’s direct and bodily strategy usually labored. They gained extra tackles than the champions-in-waiting (20 to Liverpool’s six) and emerged victorious from extra duels (52.2 per cent to Liverpool’s 46.2). United’s lengthy cross price elevated to a whopping 15.9 per cent.
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Whereas purists would possibly establish this as a regressive strategy due to the weaknesses within the United line-up, Amorim’s anticipated Anfield technique is in line with the broader tendencies throughout the Premier League.
Liverpool’s title defence has met the resistance of a Eighties-themed revival, the long-ball, ultra-physical sport is again with such vigour that John Fashanu have to be considering popping out of retirement.
Information from Opta underlines how dramatic the tactical swap to an old-school strategy has been within the early weeks of 2025-26.
Earlier than this weekend’s spherical of fixtures, lengthy balls accounted for greater than 14 per cent of passes for 5 Premier League golf equipment – Burnley, Brentford, Everton, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Crystal Palace.
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The weaponising of the lengthy throw-in is probably the most seen illustration of this modification of tack throughout the board.
Manchester United have embraced the resurgence of the lengthy throw, utilizing Diogo Dalot to hurl the ball into the field – Shutterstock/Peter Powell
Earlier than this weekend there had already been 262 lengthy throws into the penalty space this season – a mean of three.7 per sport.
Evaluate this with 5 years in the past when there have been 340 throughout all the season (lower than one per match).
United are usually not the one “trendy” membership leaping on this bandwagon, with Newcastle United (18), Tottenham Hotspur (18), Arsenal (16) and Aston Villa (13) simply as keen to make Premier League matches resemble the NFL, each throw-in throughout the neighborhood of the penalty space giving the impression it wants a “time-out” to organize a meticulously choreographed missile launch.
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When lately requested what Liverpool should enhance, Slot supplied logical explanations such because the introduction of recent signings, key gamers nonetheless conditioning after a disrupted pre-season and a midfield rejig.
‘We lose video games by set-pieces’
He additionally had one thing else on his thoughts. “An increasing number of in soccer you see it turns into a set-piece sport,” Slot stated.
“I do know that set-pieces are part of soccer. That is the fashion you see extra, primarily within the Premier League. I see groups within the Premier League who win video games by set-pieces, and we lose them by set-pieces.”
He elaborated on these feedback earlier than the Chelsea defeat, suggesting each opponent is altering their plan towards his facet.
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“We are attempting to go to a scenario the place we don’t want a set-piece to win a sport or we don’t want somebody to fall on the bottom to get a penalty, or a referee to do further time, of additional time, of additional time. That’s one thing we dislike,” he stated.
Slot may simply as simply have changed the phrase “win” with “lose” within the above sentence.
Liverpool conceded from a nook and lengthy throw-in throughout , their defending particularly meek when conceding their targets.
Ismaila Sarr scores for Crystal Palace towards Liverpool, changing a flick-on from a nook – PA/Jonathan Brady
Palace’s victory absorbed an alarming first half for the champions wherein Slot’s facet had been overpowered by Oliver Glasner’s. Within the first 45 minutes, Palace gained a staggering 62.2 per cent of duels, finishing 12 tackles to Liverpool’s one.
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Considerably, Palace’s long-ball common rose to 26.3 per cent – a 12.1 per cent improve on their season’s common.
Liverpool additionally misplaced extra tackles and duels towards Chelsea of their most up-to-date league defeat. Once more, Enzo Maresca’s facet performed extra lengthy balls than standard to check Liverpool’s again line (67 in contrast with a season’s common of 49.2 per sport).
This helps Slot’s view that groups are making a particular plan for the champions. The query, due to this fact, is how he intends to counteract it.
Based mostly on their final three away defeats, there’s a notion that Liverpool should rediscover their robustness to impose their supervisor’s imaginative and prescient. Nonetheless, the person statistics of Slot’s most warrior-like defenders and midfielders don’t help that.
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The success in duels of Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konaté, Ryan Gravenberch and Dominik Szoboszlai have all elevated this season, whereas Alexis Mac Allister’s is just about an identical to 2024-25.
That can’t disguise apparent vulnerabilities and the sense that sure bodily flaws throughout the facet are being uncovered.
Liverpool’s current defensive additions, for instance, favoured method above top and physicality.
Milos Kerkez (5ft 10in) and Jeremie Frimpong (5ft 8in) are under the typical top of Premier League defenders.
At 5ft 8in Jeremie Frimpong is brief for a Premier League defender, three inches shorter than the person he changed, Trent Alexander-Arnold – Getty Pictures/Marc Atkins
And whereas Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike add stature and energy in assault, Florian Wirtz wants to check a few of Szoboszlai’s unheralded work of final season to make sure the defending begins from the entrance.
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You don’t win titles taking part in lengthy ball, says Slot
Throughout the build-up to United’s go to, Slot stated he would by no means compromise his rules to reflect the present throwback development, however acknowledged that the idea of opposition coaches prioritising set-plays, pouncing upon second balls and successful duels larger up the pitch when going through the highest sides is nothing new.
“I believe that taking part in fashion of lengthy ball and second ball just isn’t a taking part in fashion a workforce has had that has gained this league previously 10-15-20 years,” stated Slot. “If you wish to win the league you can not with that taking part in fashion. I don’t see this fashion at any workforce in Europe that wins the league.
“It’s not Bayern Munich, not Barcelona, not Actual Madrid, it’s not Liverpool, not Man Metropolis. However it’s a very reasonable reply to taking part in towards Man Metropolis, taking part in towards Liverpool, taking part in towards Arsenal, taking part in towards Chelsea, taking part in towards all these prime groups in that fashion; low block, lengthy ball, low block, lengthy ball, low block.”
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The fear for Liverpool, and probably Metropolis, is Arsenal presently look extra bodily outfitted to struggle hearth with hearth, whereas they’re embracing – arguably even main – the set-piece and long-throw revival.
The age-old mantra about incomes the precise to play has by no means been extra apparent in a world wherein extra Premier League coaches look like discarding Pep Guardiola’s enlightened strategies.
United versus Liverpool just isn’t fairly a contemporary retake of “the loopy gang versus the tradition membership” but. United are extra inclined to combine it up relying on the opposition
Brief time period, the gulf between Liverpool and Manchester United will stay, no matter Sunday’s consequence.
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However the encouragement for Amorim comes from realizing he can nonetheless reap the rewards of taking part in the lengthy sport.
