Erik ten Hag has dismissed Jurgen Klopp's suggestion that Manchester United utilised a man-marking system to get the better of Liverpool in Tuesday's pre-season friendly.
The Reds were on the receiving end of a 4-0 defeat against their north west rivals in Bangkok, with United opting to select a stronger starting eleven and deciding against rotating their squad as frequently as Liverpool during the contest.
This was not the outcome Klopp would have hoped for, despite fielding 32 players during the course of 90 minutes, while it represented an ideal start to life as Manchester United manager for Ten Hag.
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Speaking after the full-time whistle, the Liverpool boss was full of praise for his opposite number and noted Ten Hag's man-marking approach which caused many problems.
“I saw a lot of good performances in moments, but no consistency, sometimes we were in a rush,” he said. “The way United defended in a man-marking system, especially in midfield, we gave the ball away and they finished the moments off, that was obvious.
"The way United is playing with this man-marking idea you need more flexibility. When Harvey [Elliott] came in the middle we were more dangerous.”
Klopp's comments were put forward to the Dutchman during his press conference today in Melbourne, though he was left confused by this observation and set the record straight on how he believes his style of play should be recognised.
“I wouldn’t say that we play man-marking – at a certain moment we play man-marking,” Ten Hag told manutd.com.
He added: “We want to press, we want to press all day and play proactive football. Sometimes we can do that high but if not possible, we have to read it as a team and drop lower. But we want to press and that has to be the intention all day.”
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