At 23:00 on September 1st, in the third round of the Premier League, Liverpool will play away against Manchester United, stepping onto the stage of the “Red Derby”. At the pre-match press conference, Liverpool manager Slot talked about new signings, Manchester United, Ten Hag, and English football.
When talking about the transfer market, Slot said: “I am satisfied with the players we have signed because Liverpool is a strong team. To find players that can enhance the team gives us reason to be happy. Kehrer can help the team in the short term, while Mamardashvili proves that the club is looking to the future. Transfer deadline day? I don’t have more expectations, but if we see opportunities, we will pay attention.”
Slot further discussed new signing Federico Kehrer: “He works very hard both on and off the pitch, he can score goals, and he is aggressive without the ball, and he can play many positions. This is an exciting signing. We will take good care of him. He hasn’t trained much yet, but we have an excellent team, and we will see his quality in the near future. His physical condition? He did have problems with his cruciate ligaments in the past, but there are no serious injuries elsewhere, only minor injuries. I believe in our staff. He is not our only winger; we have other players. If he cannot play at certain moments, we have enough other players to choose from.”
Talking about opponents Manchester United, Slot pointed out: “When we played against Manchester United in the USA, the crowd of 80,000 was split 50-50, but the atmosphere for this game will be different. We don’t expect half the crowd to cheer for us. When you work at Liverpool, everyone knows how important the game against Manchester United is, like the significance of Ajax versus Feyenoord. Preparation for this match? It’s important for the players’ mental preparation. We will play in a hostile atmosphere, hoping the players are aware of this. This is my first time working at Liverpool, but many of the players have already played there (at Old Trafford), so they are used to it. Manchester United’s playing style is different from the past two seasons, and the team must be prepared.”
Talking about Manchester United manager Ten Hag, Slot pointed out: “Just like my relationships with others, it’s good, normal. I can say that our relationship is very good, with mutual respect. Friends? No, friendship is another matter, but our relationship is good. Friends are people you meet or dine with often, but Ten Hag and I don’t know each other well enough.”
Slot confirmed that Curtis Jones is still injured: “He won’t train with us today.” Talking about Elliott, Slot pointed out: “Now there is only one game per week, so we don’t need to manage playing time for now. If he shows his level, he will get opportunities, but competition exists. Szoboszlai’s current performance is good.”
As a Dutchman, how does he view English football? Slot pointed out: “What I see is that not every team has strong pressing, but the physicality of this league is much stronger than what we are used to in the Netherlands… In the game against Ipswich, several yellow cards were shown which might have been red cards in the Eredivisie!”