Arne Slot admits he feels ‘sympathy’ towards struggling Man United boss Ruben Amorim… and fires a warning to his in-form side as Liverpool prepare to host their bitter rivals at Anfield

Arne Slot stressed that despite Manchester United’s struggles this season, he is sure that Ruben Amorim’s side are better than the league table shows and that the Portuguese manager will ‘eventually bring the best out of them’.

‘It is a big game. They have much better players in my opinion than maybe the league table shows,’ said Slot. It’s going to take a while maybe for Ruben to bring it out of the players but they will definitely go up.’

Ahead of Sunday’s clash at Anfield, the Liverpool boss added that he sympathises with Amorim, who has lost six of his 11 games since taking over at Old Trafford in November, with United reeling in 14th.

‘I think every manager sympathises with every other manager because we all know how much pressure this job brings – that is no different for him or me,’ said Slot. 

‘This is a job with pressure and it’s also something we like, otherwise we should not do this. He has done so well with Sporting. He has a good squad so he will eventually bring the best out of them.’

In his pre-match press conference, Slot hailed Virgil Van Dijk with the game against United marking seven years since the Liverpool captain made his debut at Anfield.

Amorim has endured a tricky start to his Man United tenure and is already under huge pressure

Slot also heaped praise on Virgil van Dijk, revealing how the defender ‘wowed’ him in training

‘I have to make a long list because the best players in the world have so many attributes. Virgil has game intelligence – he reads the game really well, he is big and strong and fast. 

‘I was impressed by how he is in ball possession from the first session, I was “wow.” He is a complete player. Same like Mo (Salah), otherwise you don’t belong to the best players in the world or the best in your position. 

‘Even for Virgil, there are probably some things he can improve on a bit, but he is doing outstanding for us. He is also the one who leads the team. I will hear one player in the session and that is Virgil.’

And Slot said he has warned his players that playing United won’t be easy, despite Liverpool winning 3-0 at Old Trafford in September. In the same fixture last season, Liverpool had 34 shots but failed to score in a goalless draw.

‘If you have 34 shots that tells me you need a bit of luck but maybe it was really well defended by United,’ said Slot. 

‘We need to be in the best possible way prepared. You face quality players and they will think this is a chance to make their fans proud again. Them quality players are always dangerous.’

Liverpool are six points clear at the top of the Premier League, with a game in hand on Arsenal, who are second.