Liverpool head coach Arne Slot said he is looking forward to a reunion with compatriot Ruud van Nistelrooy even if his memories of their tussles in the Netherlands are not particularly happy.
As manager of Feyenoord, Slot drew and lost to the former Manchester United striker, who was boss of PSV Eindhoven for just over a year, but had the last laugh as his team finished seven points clear in winning the Eredivisie title.
“I was expecting you to tell the people over here that I lost once and drew once, but you made it positive saying we won the league title, which was true,” Slot told reporters.
“Cody Gakpo was in his team, so I am happy he is in my team now when we face Ruud because Cody scored [in a 4-3 victory].
“Ruud is a very nice person, first of all. I met him once or twice and he did really well when he was at PSV because PSV for the past one-and-a-half years they have been on top of the league table.
“But if you look at the second half of Ruud’s season, they didn’t even lose any more at all. After he left, they started buying a few more players than they did when he was working there but he still showed he can compete for the title.
