Arne Slot singles out game-changing Man United star who “hurt” Liverpool

But Mainoo had the last laugh, sprinting onto a clearance and firing the ball into the back of the net to cap off a memorable masterclass.

While he was denied an assist for Sesko’s goal, Fernandes was as influential as ever and he was pinpointed by Slot as someone who “hurt” Liverpool, especially in transitions.

Slot praise

The Liverpool boss said, “We weren’t able to control their strengths. We were aware of them – set-pieces and counter-attack. You have to know where to lose the ball if you play against United. They are really strong when they play into the middle.”

“They have so many fast players, Bruno Fernandes to hurt you in transition and that’s exactly what happened with the second goal.”

Slot added about his side’s woes this season, woes that United only deepened, “That is what happens. We were 2-0 down, came back in the second-half to 2-2 and then we shut off and immediately conceded the goal. I don’t think anyone expected us to lose that game after a 2-2.”

“Or maybe you do after the whole of our season. As I’ve shown so many times this season, when we are playing well or we think we are able to win it, we switch off. We had a lot of ball possession, one of their strengths is also defending.”

“I tried to play a bit more on both sides with the wingers. We went a bit too much for the middle in the first-half where they can counter attack you. The same issues keep coming back which is not a huge surprise as you don’t have long to fix it during the season.”

United are next in action on Saturday when they go away to Sunderland.

Featured image by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images

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