Arne Slot avoided repeating Erik ten Hag mistake in first Liverpool press conference

Liverpool boss Arne Slot did not make the same mistake as Manchester United's Erik ten Hag after facing the media in his first press conference on Friday.

The 45-year-old Dutch tactician is busy preparing for his first season in charge of the Reds, as he joins forces with sporting director Richard Hughes and CEO of football Michael Edwards to construct a title-challenging side. Liverpool finished third in the Premier League in Jurgen Klopp's final season in charge of the club, which should be a solid foundation for the new regime to build on in the coming months.

During his first press conference as the new Liverpool boss, Slot was joined by Hughes and the pair were questioned on several issues such as contract situations surrounding key players, potential transfer activity and their expectations for the upcoming campaign. And, Slot was also able to avoid a key mistake that Ten Hag made when he was first appointed as the new United head coach.

READ MORE: Every word of Arne Slot's first Liverpool press conference

READ MORE: Three things will 'definitely' happen in Liverpool pre-season including transfers and Arne Slot hint

After being unveiled as the new United boss back in 2022, Ten Hag was asked whether or not his side could topple the dominance of Manchester City and Liverpool across recent years. “I think yeah," he replied.

“In this moment, I admire them both, Manchester City and Liverpool. They both play really fantastic football, both Liverpool and Man City. But you will always see an era can come to an end and I am looking forward to battle with them."

When asked a similar question regarding Liverpool challenging City, who have won the Premier League title four years in a row, Slot was slightly more hesitant and suggested it would be wrong to just focus on the current champions.

He said: "It's something to look forward to [facing Pep Guardiola], but there are many more good managers in this league which is normal. English people like to believe it is the best league in the world, and I believe this as well. It's normal that there are so many good managers.

"Pep is one of them, that is for sure. I'm lucky enough that I lived in an area where I could see the Barcelona team. I'm looking forward to work here, but not specifically against Man City. At the moment Ipswich is the next one and most important one."

Liverpool.com says: While it is a daunting task to compete with City, Liverpool showed last season that the team is capable of it once again. With some fine-tuning and additional reinforcements, as well as Kevin De Bruyne reaching the twilight years of his career, the Reds could look to stop City winning five in a row.