Rio Ferdinand more confident of Manchester United win at Anfield than he has been for 'six or seven years'
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Published 04/03/2023 at 12:27 GMT
Rio Ferdinand is brimming with confidence that Manchester United can get a result at Anfield against Liverpool on Sunday in their Premier League clash. The former Red Devils defender says he hasn't felt this confident in 'six or seven years' after a season of contrasting form for the two rivals. Ferdinand credited manager Erik ten Hag for having an 'unreal' impact on the squad in 2022/23.
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Rio Ferdinand says he hasn’t felt so confident about Manchester United’s chances ahead of a trip to face Liverpool at Anfield for ‘six or seven years’.
The two Premier League rivals face off on Merseyside on Sunday with 10 points separating the Red Devils in third from Jurgen Klopp’s men in sixth.
Liverpool have enjoyed great success in recent years, winning Premier League and Champions League titles while United struggled, but the momentum has shifted in 2022/23.
Erik ten Hag's side head to Anfield on the back of a League Cup final triumph against Newcastle United and are unbeaten in their last 11 games in all competitions – a streak that has filled Ferdinand with belief.
“Nervous? This is the most confident I’ve been going into a Liverpool game for probably the last six or seven years. This is the most confident I’ve been,” Ferdinand said on BT Sport. “I think Man United are on (the way up) whereas Liverpool have stagnated and taken a couple of steps backwards.
“They’ve been on a formidable run in the last few years, but they aren’t the Liverpool team that we’ve seen in the last few years at the moment.
“So what a time to go to Anfield and it’s the best place to win as a Man United player.”
United’s League Cup triumph at Wembley last weekend ended a six-year trophy drought and they remain in contention for silverware in the Europa League, where they knocked out Barcelona to reach the last 16, and the FA Cup, where they will face Fulham in the quarter-finals.
In the Premier League, Ten Hag’s side are third, 11 points behind leaders Arsenal with a game in hand, and Ferdinand was asked if the quadruple was on.
“I don’t like to talk about things like that," he said. "Take each week as it comes. You’ve got a trophy in the bag, happy with that, delighted.
“At the beginning of the season, if someone had said that we would win a trophy and be convincingly in the top four for the Champions League spot, I would have said: ‘I’m not so sure, I’m not so confident in that’.
“Because that’s where we were at that point. The season starts, Erik ten Hag, the effect he’s had on this squad has been unreal.
“The likes of someone like Casemiro as well, I think he’s been integral in everything good that we’ve done on the pitch, but off the pitch he set the template, Erik ten Hag.”
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