Ex-Man United manager set to attend Liverpool v Qarabag amid growing pressure on Arne Slot
Former Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will be in attendance at Anfield on Wednesday night when Liverpool host Qarabag in the Champions League.
The Reds go into the game off the back of a chastening 3-2 defeat to Bournemouth which has heaped further pressure on Arne Slot, with Jamie Carragher suggesting that the head coach’s position may become untenable if LFC fail to qualify for Europe’s premier club competition for next season.
There have been reports that Xabi Alonso would readily go back to Merseyside if given the opportunity, but whereas the Spaniard’s presence in the stands would heighten speculation over a potential managerial change in L4, Solskjaer’s reason for attending the match is rather different.
Solskjaer to attend Liverpool v Qarabag
As per the Daily Express, the ex-Man United striker and manager will be at Anfield tomorrow night in his role as a UEFA technical observer for the Champions League.
The Norwegian is among 20 current and former players carrying out such work for the organisation, with his task being to analyse the match from a neutral standpoint and liaise with the performance analysis team to gather video and data, along with selecting an official Player of the Match.
Slot could do with a convincing win against Qarabag
Given the long-standing antipathy between Liverpool and Man United, the chances of a man regarded as a legend at one club later working for the other would be extremely slim, and the manner in which Solskjaer’s managerial tenure at Old Trafford ended in 2021 would realistically make it difficult for him to earn another coaching job at the top end of the Premier League.
As for Slot, he could very much do with a win and a convincing performance tomorrow night against a Qarabag side who’ve already drawn against Chelsea in the Champions League this season (albeit in Azerbaijan rather than at Stamford Bridge) and can’t afford to be taken lightly.
Victory would ensure that the Reds bypass a tricky two-legged knockout play-off round in February, and avoid the added burden of two extra games for a squad which has already been hampered by several injuries, particularly in defence.
Incomprehensible as it may have seemed back in August, Liverpool may yet have to rely on winning the competition this season to be in it next term, having dropped to sixth in the Premier League over the weekend and not won once in the top flight in the past month.
A win against Qarabag won’t banish Slot’s critics for good, but it’d at least inject some much-needed positivity after a difficult few days for LFC.
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