Liverpool has avoided major mistake Manchester United has never recovered from

The idea that Manchester United would finish above Liverpool this season was never going to be proven true. Even when Gary Neville made that prediction, he didn't seem that convinced of it himself .

Just six games into the new campaign, it is clear that while things are looking promising at Anfield, little has changed at Old Trafford. Liverpool is currently top of the Premier League while Manchester United just got hammered by Tottenham .

Manchester United should have fired Ten Hag after he won the FA Cup. Instead, it searched for an upgrade for a while and when it decided there wasn't one, opted to stick with him. All that means, however, is the inevitable has been postponed.

Everyone, the Manchester United dressing room included, knows that Ten Hag is on borrowed time. By looking around and discussing its options first before keeping the former Ajax boss, it has backed itself into a corner. Ultimately, the result is that a team that finished eighth last season looks set to have a similarly disappointing campaign.

In contrast, Slot still has plenty to do before his work at Liverpool is done but the early signs have been promising. You don't win trophies for implementing a style and putting your stamp on things quickly, but that is the base on which a dynasty can be built — not a one-off FA Cup run.

Slot has instantly put in place a distinct style of play at Liverpool and his team looks well coached. It has a clear idea and the players have already bought into what that is meant to look like. Even if there had been a few more dropped points, the philosophy is in place and that would have been a good sign; as it is, the results have arrived pretty instantly too.

More than two years and $600m or so in at Manchester United, Ten Hag's big idea is still a mystery. Last season's wins were the result of large slices of fortune in the main and the big victories he secured simply papered over the cracks.

So where does Manchester United go from here? That isn't Liverpool's problem, of course, but the argument that there was no one moving this summer who was an upgrade on Ten Hag is nonsense. Slot has already proven that he, for one, would have been a much better option, even if the chaos at Old Trafford is different from the continuity he has kept on Merseyside.

Jurgen Klopp's departure from Liverpool had the potential to be like Alex Ferguson's exit at Manchester United. But with the German not simply picking someone he knew to come in and replace him and Liverpool instead embarking on an extensive process to find the most suitable successor, it has worked out as well as anyone would have dared to hope for the Reds.

Slot appears to be a really good fit for Liverpool and while no one was ever going to be exactly like Klopp, the ex-Feyenoord boss has so far done and said all the right things. Meanwhile, since Ferguson left, Manchester United has had five permanent managers and is yet to get it right. It won't be long before it is searching for a sixth.