John Barnes has advised Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Manchester United how to avoid getting ‘destroyed’ by Premier League rivals Liverpool.
The struggling Red Devils, who have won just one league game since the opening day of the season, welcome unbeaten leaders Liverpool to Old Trafford on Sunday afternoon.
Jurgen Klopp’s side have won eight successive matches and will equal the Premier League record for the most consecutive victories if they secure three points this weekend.
Ahead of the match, Liverpool hero Barnes told the Evening Standard: ‘If Manchester United now under Solskjaer are going back to trying to play an exciting, open game, I think Liverpool will destroy them.
‘If you go toe-to-toe with Liverpool and try and play an open game… even Manchester City adapt their game to play against Liverpool!
‘If Manchester United come and say, ‘We’re the home team, let’s play an open game’, I think Liverpool will beat them comfortably.
‘A counterattacking team is what Jose Mourinho would have – defend deep, allow them to have the ball.
‘That is not what Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has done, it’s not what he has come to Manchester United to do, which is what Jose Mourinho was criticised for.
‘So it’s just a question as to whether Ole decides to be a bit more cautious, to defend more, and try and catch them on the counter, which is an away team performance.’
Barnes also discussed the differences between struggling Manchester United and in-form Liverpool.
He added: ‘At the moment, United are not like Liverpool, who have a template in terms of the way they play, which any player coming in can hit the ground running and put in a good performance.
‘Manchester United have relied on individuals to win their matches; I don’t think they’ve played well as a team in any of the games I’ve seen.
‘They’ve got individuals who can do something, so the better individuals you have, the more chance you have of winning.
‘If Liverpool were missing two or three players, I wouldn’t worry about them. The style of Liverpool as a team, you know they’re going to play that way regardless of who plays.
‘With Manchester United I think it depends on having those individual players. Pogba, I think, will be a big loss for them. They’ll need their better individuals to cause Liverpool problems.’
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