Arne Slot has cherry-picked one Manchester United star for praise. (Photo by Jan Kruger/Getty Images)
Instances where Manchester United and Liverpool managers laud players of the opposing clubs are few and far between, but Arne Slot has found a way to bypass the rivalry when singling out one longstanding Red for praise.
The Liverpool boss is preparing for a crunch midweek clash against a European-chasing Aston Villa side tomorrow evening. Should they win, they’d go 10 points clear atop the table before Arsenal take on West Ham at the weekend.
Wednesday’s contest also poses another chance for Marcus Rashford to make his full debut for the Villans, having featured off the bench against both Tottenham Hotspur (FA Cup) and Ipswich Town in matchweek 25.
He impressed in both outings – initially enjoying a lively maiden cameo in the closing stages of Villa’s cup triumph before creating the equaliser against Ipswich; he fired a superb free-kick off of the crossbar, which was subsequently finished by the pouncing Ollie Watkins.
Slot heaps praise on Rashford ahead of Villa vs Liverpool clash
Now, Rashford will be hoping to further showcase his abilities from the off, and while he’s no longer donning the red of his boyhood club, the desire to perform against former arch-rivals Liverpool will be as fiery as ever.
Slot is well aware of the attacking threat Rashford brings to the game, too. He said of the forward in his pre-match press conference: “Of course, I knew Marcus Rashford from following the Premier League, but the first time I faced him in real life was in the USA [pre-season] tour, and I was really impressed at how fast he is.
“He [Rashford] has a nice height, and he’s comfortable on the ball. I think he’s a very good player. I hope that, for him, he is going to that Villa but not [on Wednesday]! I will be completely surprised if a player of that quality doesn’t show that in the upcoming months.”
Arne Slot on Marcus Rashford: “I was really impressed by how fast he is, he has a nice height. I will be completely surprised if a player of that quality will not show this in the upcoming months. He’s a very good player.” pic.twitter.com/n3A7pVkYbU
— BeanymanSports (@BeanymanSports) February 18, 2025
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