Ahead of the Champions League clash between Liverpool and Ajax, Alfred Schreuder has shared how Erik ten Hag aided his preparations for the Group A encounter.
What’s the story?
Well, the 49-year-old was asked if he had been in touch with his predecessor about how to cause Liverpool problems, seeing as Manchester United only recently defeated Jürgen Klopp at Old Trafford.
Schreuder revealed he had not spoken directly to Ten Hag, although he did concede that the Dutchman’s tactics in the 2-1 win over Liverpool have been taken note of.
The Ajax boss said: “No, I haven’t had any contact with him. I did see the match. Then I saw certain things that would suit us as well.”
Now, that is a very interesting comment.
It was only as recently as August 22nd that Manchester United defeated Liverpool in convincing fashion at Old Trafford, and Jürgen Klopp has refrained from making any significant changes since that clash.
Therefore, the tactics used by Ten Hag in that 2-1 win over the Reds should still be relevant for Schreuder, unless Klopp decides to spring a surprise with his team selection at Anfield tonight.
Ajax could stun Liverpool
In that aforementioned 2-1 win for Manchester United, Ten Hag surprising decided to relinquish possession of the ball in favour of a more counter-attacking style.
The Dutchman often prefers to see his side keep the ball, although the Red Devils registered just 30% of the possession when defeating Liverpool, as the likes of Marcus Rashford, Anthony Elanga and Jadon Sancho caused problems with their pace.
Therefore, Ajax – who are famed for their possession based style – may decide to sit back and hit Liverpool on the break with pacey forwards of their own, such as Steven Bergwijn and Mohammed Kudus.
It is sure to be an interesting tactical battle between Klopp and Schreuder, even more so given the pressure Liverpool find themselves under due to a poor start to the season.
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