Liverpool renews its rivalry with Manchester United on Saturday night, and Arne Slot will be hoping he can succeed where Jurgen Klopp failed last season .
The Reds’ new head coach gets his first taste of English football’s biggest game in South Carolina, albeit with nothing more than pride and game time ahead of the new campaign on offer. Still, Liverpool’s players might be eyeing up some revenge in the final game of their tour of the United States.
Despite finishing 22 points ahead of United in the Premier League last season, the Reds didn’t actually get the better of their rivals in any of their three meetings, with those games playing a huge role in the collapse of Klopp's hopes of a quadruple in his final season.
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The foundations for Liverpool falling short in the title race were perhaps set against United at Anfield in December. Despite dominating Erik ten Hag’s team in possession, the Reds didn’t do much to test Andre Onana as they were left to rue a goalless draw.
But it was the defeat in the FA Cup at Old Trafford that perhaps stung more than any other game. Having once again ran proceedings, on this occasion there were plenty of chances for Liverpool to wrap things up, but they instead spurned the opportunity to kill their rivals off, with Anthony striking late on to force the game into extra time.
Even then, it seemed as though the Reds would book their place in the semi-finals when Harvey Elliott made it 3-2 just before the break. Marcus Rashford though would draw United level again, before Amad Diallo struck in stoppage time to destroy the hopes of a perfect send-off for Klopp.
Not only did that defeat end Liverpool’s chances of returning to Wembley, but it seemed to be the beginning of the end in a much wider sense. After returning from the international break that immediately followed, the Reds never really hit their stride again, with their title ambitions and Europa League hopes going up in smoke shortly after.
And there was a somewhat unwelcome reminder of that FA Cup defeat out in the US, with Amad back on the scoresheet as United beat Real Betis 3-2 in midweek.
Fresh from their win over Arsenal, Liverpool will be hoping to lay down another marker, and this time do what they failed to do on three occasions last season by beating United. It won’t banish the memories of just a few months ago, but it would give Slot the perfect springboard heading into the new season.
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