Liverpool: Arne Slot deserves more credit for fast start

By Alex Keble

15:41 · MON September 02, 2024

Nobody expected things to go quite this smoothly, yet nobody seems surprised that they have.

So fickle and suggestable are we that Liverpool’s perfect start under Arne Slot has a retrospective air of inevitability about it, despite pretty much every anxious August forecast mentioning Sir Alex Ferguson and David Moyes.

We always knew Jurgen Klopp had left Liverpool in a considerably better position than Manchester United were back in 2013, but even so it was probably downplayed too much. Liverpool were top of the Premier League in early April with a young squad full of new or newish players improving every week. Unlike Ferguson, who left at the end of a cycle, Klopp rebuilt the club for the next man.

That doesn’t make Slot’s fast start inevitable, and yet it feels as though the new Liverpool manager hasn’t been given enough praise as we enter the first international break, perhaps precisely because of the reassuring calm and order of his football.

Being the first team to visit Portman Road was supposed to be a thorny game. Brentford have won their other two Premier League matches this season and looked very good value for their six points. Manchester United had looked considerably improved on their 2023/24 performances, even if an incredibly low bar limits the value of that statement.

All three clubs were beaten – easily. A small adjustment to his tactics at Ipswich was enough for Slot’s team to move from second gear into third and breeze to victory; Brentford were a goal down within 13 minutes and never looked like recovering; and Man Utd were reduced to the shambolic rabble we saw so many times in 2023/24.

None of those wins should be taken for granted. None were as easy on paper as Liverpool and Slot made them look.

But thanks to Slot’s focus on a softer style of football than his predecessor, Liverpool have dominated games, slowing the tempo at the right moments to kill momentum and recycling the ball in a risk-averse fashion. That was most notable at Old Trafford, when a hectic opening 20 minutes had been forced by Man Utd before Slot’s side hunkered down, forced the hosts deeper, and calmly began to strangle them.

It’s a strategy that won’t be quite as exciting for neutrals but could well make up last season’s nine-point gap to Manchester City, especially if Ryan Gravenberch’s form so far this season holds.

Gravenberch has been the most obvious beneficiary of the more structured and less urgent approach. He can stride through midfield on the ball, and nick it off others, with greater dexterity from within a system that packs players around him, unlike the stretched shape that so often emerged when Klopp encouraged more improvisation.

It’s no surprise that a Dutch ex-Ajax and Bayern Munich player would understand Slot’s instructions nor that he has stepped up to be the number six Liverpool failed to secure in the transfer market, although Liverpool’s desire to spend big on a Rodri-like player does suggest Slot anticipates problems in the middle.

Indeed it’s worth mentioning that despite keeping three clean sheets from three Liverpool have conceded 2.4 xG, the third-lowest in the Premier League and enough to suggest profligate finishing has had more to do with their defensive record than actual defending.

We will know for sure after the September games. Nottingham Forest, up next, have taken more shots (53) than anyone else and possess some brilliant counter-attacking forwards capable of punishing Liverpool.

After that are Bournemouth, Wolves, and Crystal Palace, another three teams who like to play predominantly on the break. If Gravenberch and the Liverpool midfield can screen against those three, and emerge with seven wins from seven, then we can definitely begin to talk about them as serious title contenders.

Slot won’t be looking that far ahead. His management style brings meditative calm in the same way as his tactics; an understated way of being on the touchline and a reserved manner of focusing single-mindedly on the next game. He won’t be getting carried away, but he will be delighted by a flawless start to life as Liverpool manager.

Even he wouldn’t have expected the first three matches to go this well. If Liverpool can play with such quiet confidence, such steel and comfort, at the very beginning of Slot’s reign then just imagine what they’ll be like once the principles of his football are more deeply embedded. Klopp left Liverpool in an enviable position. Slot already looks like the right man to add the finishing touches.

Safer gambling

We are committed in our support of safer gambling. Recommended bets are advised to over-18s and we strongly encourage readers to wager only what they can afford to lose.

If you are concerned about your gambling, please call the National Gambling Helpline / GamCare on 0808 8020 133.

Further support and information can be found at begambleaware.org and gamblingtherapy.org.

Like what you've read?