Gary Neville and Wayne Rooney wouldn’t ordinarily be at the head of the queue to heap praise on Liverpool, but the ex-Manchester United duo have both used the same word to compliment the Reds’ excellent start to the season.
Arne Slot has made the transition from the Jurgen Klopp era look seamless so far, winning nine of his first 10 games in charge and guiding his side to the top of the Premier League going into the October international break.
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LFC have shipped just two goals in seven top-flight matches under the Dutchman, a 71.4% decrease on their concession tally at the same juncture 12 months ago, and that defensive improvement hasn’t gone unnoticed among the pundits.
Rooney appeared as a guest on the latest episode of Stick to Football, and when asked to name which Premier League team has impressed him most this season, he replied: “I’d go Liverpool. With the manager coming in after Klopp, that was obviously big pressure, but they look more solid…they’ve a good solid base and [Slot] comes across well.”
Neville then chimed in: “That back five, to be fair, has probably played together more than any other back five for a long time, it feels like. You’ve got Robertson, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Konate and Van Dijk. Some will say Konate’s not played every game but it feels like that back five with Alisson is quite solid.”
Unfortunately that settled quintet won’t play together for at least a few more weeks after the Brazilian goalkeeper’s hamstring injury against Crystal Palace last week, although we could hardly wish for a more capable deputy than Caoimhin Kelleher.
The Irishman has proven capable of stepping up when called upon in the past, and if Liverpool’s first-choice defensive four can maintain their fitness throughout the season, they should become even more cohesive than they already have been.
Fingers crossed that we can continue to count upon such stability for the duration of the campaign!
You can view the ex-Man United duo’s comments on Liverpool below (from 59:26), via The Overlap on YouTube:
The post (Video) ‘To be fair…’ – Gary Neville and Wayne Rooney both pay Liverpool the same compliment appeared first on The Empire of The Kop.
