Erik ten Hag concedes Liverpool are a 'more mature' team than Man Utd; the Dutchman also labelled recent criticism of striker Marcus Rashford as 'stupid'; watch Man Utd vs Liverpool, live on Sky Sports Premier League, from 3.30pm on Sunday; kick-off 4pm
Saturday 31 August 2024 09:12, UK
Liverpool are a more mature side than Manchester United, with the advantage of a cohesive team of established players, says Erik ten Hag.
Ahead of Sunday's Premier League clash at Old Trafford, live on Sky Sports, Ten Hag said Liverpool are in a different "phase of the life cycle", while also leaping to the defence of striker Marcus Rashford - who has failed to register a single shot on target in United's opening two fixtures.
"They are a mature team with players who have played together for a long time and are very experienced," the Dutchman commented. "We are much more mixed and we have to build a new team."
Man United have not beaten Liverpool in the Premier League since a 2-1 win at Old Trafford in August 2022, with the Merseyside club finishing five places and 22 points ahead of United last term.
Ten Hag continued: "(Liverpool) are a team who are clear in the relationship among their players. It's what (new manager Arne Slot) has inherited. It was built over the last few years."
Slot and Ten Hag have faced each other in the past during their time working in the Dutch top flight, with little to choose between them.
Both managers have two wins apiece against one another in Eredivisie competition, with Sunday's meeting their first head-to-head since early 2022.
Ten Hag also addressed criticism of Rashford - who was substituted after 65 minutes during a 2-1 loss to Brighton last weekend - from BBC pundit Alan Shearer, labelling analysis of the striker's performance as "stupid".
"Everyone gets criticism from you guys, it doesn't matter what we are doing, if we are winning or losing, if I take a player off," Ten Hag added.
"I was very happy with him in pre-season, against Fulham, against Brighton. It didn't take him off because his level was not right.
"We have good players on the bench and you have to bring new energy. There will be rotation.
"The conclusion is always that the player is not performing. It can be sometimes but definitely that was not the case. Stupid analysis in this case from the pundit."
Liverpool, meanwhile, have made a solid start to the season under Slot, who became their first manager since Graeme Souness in 1991 to win his two opening league games with Sunday's 2-0 victory over Brentford.
Asked if he was "friends" with his Dutch counterpart, ahead of this weekend's showdown, Slot replied: "No. Friends is something else, but it's a good relationship.
"A friend is someone you see a lot and go out with, but that's not something we've done in the past. We don't know each other well enough."
Sky Sports' Jamie Carragher on Sky Sports News:
"It's a huge game, one of the biggest we've covered on Sky. There have been some great games of late that have normally gone in Liverpool's favour, some big scores.
"But Old Trafford, even for Jurgen Klopp in 10 or 11 games, only won there twice, are eye-catching games in terms of the score. One was 5-0 and one was 6-2.
"But in the main, Liverpool have always struggled at Old Trafford. Last season, it was where the wheels fell off in terms of Liverpool going for the title, so it will be a tough game.
"For any Liverpool side going back 30 to 40 years, some of the best Liverpool teams we've seen, Old Trafford has been a tough place to go.
"Liverpool are a better side than Manchester United and should be going there looking to win. I think Liverpool will win, but a draw is not the end of the world."
Sky Sports' Gary Neville on Sky Sports News:
"I worry about Ten Hag a little bit on Sunday if United were to lose badly. Jamie mentioned the bad defeats United had against Jurgen Klopp, I don't see that on Sunday. I don't think it will be a big defeat for United by any stretch of the imagination.
"I wouldn't say I'm confident but United have a habit of turning up at the right moments under Ten Hag and getting a result.
"I think he needs a result. That Brighton defeat last weekend, it's not putting big pressure on but he is under an element of pressure after what happened last season. The league cannot go as badly this season, they cannot be in the same position three months in at the end of October and in November.
"It is an important game, it's very early in the season. I wouldn't say it's more important for United than Liverpool, but I would say it's more important for Erik ten Hag in terms of getting the season going and getting the performance levels up.
"The signs in the first two weeks against Fulham and Brighton, the performance levels were still not quite good enough. And that's an imbalance in the team caused by a lack of centre forward, the team selection, Joshua Zirkzee not playing for the first half or first hour of games. So that will change on Sunday, I would like to think.
"I think Carragher is more worried about the game than he's letting on in the last 24 hours."
