Even Man Utd fans will laugh at Arne Slot’s ‘step forward’ verdict on Liverpool | OneFootball

Manchester United and Liverpool will lock horns with each other at Old Trafford in the Premier League on Sunday, as Michael Carrick’s side and Arne Slot’s team fight for the Champions League places.

While Liverpool are fourth with 58 points from 34 matches, Man Utd are three points above the Merseyside club in third.

A win for either team would see them ascertain their place in the Premier League top five this season, thereby securing their place in the Champions League for the 2026/27 campaign.

For Man Utd, this could be progress, given that under the then-manager Ruben Amorim, the Red Devils finished as low as 15th in the Premier League table last season.

Amorim was sacked in January 2026, and under Carrick, who was appointed as the interim manager until the end of the season, Man Utd are now just two points away from returning to Europe’s premier club competition.

The same cannot be said of Liverpool, who won the Premier League title last season in Arne Slot’s first season in charge.

The Dutchman was widely applauded for Liverpool’s title success last season, but it has been a hugely underwhelming campaign for the Reds in 2025/26.

Liverpool spent £446million on new players in the summer of 2025 and brought the likes of Florian Wirtz, Alexander Isak and Milos Kerkez to Anfield.

However, Liverpool were out of the Premier League title race after just a few weeks of the 2025/26 campaign.

Finishing in the top five and playing in the Champions League now looks very likely for Liverpool, but for a club of their stature and recent history, it should be a given.

Winning the Premier League title one season and then waiting until the four games of the following campaign to qualify for the Champions League is not a step forward, but that is exactly what Slot thinks it is.

Arne Slot makes bizarre Liverpool comments ahead of Man Utd clash

During his pre-match press conference on Friday ahead of the Premier League clash against Man Utd at Old Trafford, Slot said when asked about moving above the Red Devils to finish third, as quoted on BBC Sport: “We are aware that it is a very big game. “Not only because we play Man United, but to qualify for the Champions League and to get the highest possible league position.

“We wanted to win the league – that is not possible – so we are trying to finish as high as possible.

“A win [which could secure a top-five finish] is the right step forward. It is an important step, it is definitely not a step backwards.”

Even Man Utd fans will be bemused at Slot’s comments and laugh at the Liverpool manager.

Man Utd are (arguably?) the biggest club in the world, and the Old Trafford faithful are fully aware of how it is to do well one season and then struggle the next.

That has been Man Utd’s nature for over a decade now – it is not progress either.

Slot simply cannot consider finishing third this season as progress, and he has to admit – publicly – that the 2025/26 campaign has been hugely disappointing.

A large section of the Liverpool fans want Slot gone, but the Dutchman looks set to remain in charge next season.

However, Slot will lose many Liverpool fans if he continues to make comments like the aforementioned remarks.