Summer signing Nathaniel Clyne thinks Liverpool’s best chance of securing a result against Manchester United on Saturday is with an all-action aggressive display.
And he’s right.
When we’ve played well and won matches under Brendan Rodgers, we’ve come straight out the blocks, harrying opponents, pressing relentlessly, winning tackles and interceptions and scoring early. This has enabled us to then control the game, but if we start slowly – we’ve often found it hard to play with a good tempo.
“One of the reasons I signed for Liverpool is to play in big matches like this,” Clyne told liverpoolfc.com
“Playing at Old Trafford last season with Southampton and getting the three points was a great feeling. It was a well deserved victory.
“We played really well and you have to be on top of your game if you want to come away with three points.
“Working hard, playing on the front foot and taking the game to them is going to be key. We can’t allow them to pass the ball around as they like to or have too much free space.
“We need to be at their throats from the start, not let them settle in the game, and with the quality we have up front we can cause them problems.”
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It’s great to hear this from our England international right-back, but it would be much better to see it in action. We were passive beyond belief at West Ham last time out and another tepid display would be almost unforgivable.
While we need to be disciplined away to United, we need to be passionate and aggressive too, or they’ll get a stranglehold on possession.
Matches start to come thick and fast now, and we need to set the tone and benchmark from here on in.