Arne Slot’s already stamped his mark on ‘Klopp’s squad’ in just two games with Liverpool – now Man Utd are next

THE start of the 2024/25 season was always going to be a difficult one for Liverpool fans following the departure of long-serving boss Jurgen Klopp.

In the end, however, the transition from Klopp to his successor, Arne Slot, has appeared seamless with the Dutch coach being appointed before the end of the season.

Reds transfer chiefs only completed the signing of Giorgi Mamardashvili for next season and moved for Federico Chiesa in the recent days following a summer of almost no incoming movement.

Their start to the season has been steady if not unspectacular, with 2-0 wins over Ipswich and Brentford.

However, the Slot era is facing its most difficult test to date, with a trip to Old Trafford to face Manchester United on Sunday.

Liverpool, however, have striking differences in terms of their style of play and the way that they have attacked with more control and possession dominance than we may have seen previously.

This new style shows that Slot has already stamped his authority on the first team.

Below we examine some of the key tactical points that we have picked out from Slot’s opening matches in charge,

Trent Alexander-Arnold’s positioning

At Euro 2024 England boss Gareth Southgate experimented with Trent Alexander-Arnold playing in the centre midfield.

In the end, the change didn’t come off, with Conor Gallagher and later Kobbie Mainoo selected to play next to Declan Rice in midfield.

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As we have seen previously in his career the English international has adopted a playmaker role with his ability to play passes from deeper areas to help Liverpool break down opposition teams.

Under Slot, we have seen Alexander-Arnold invert to position himself in the channels when Liverpool are building their attack from deeper positions and when they are in more established attacking areas.

His ability to break lines and play progressive passes that move the ball forward into advanced positions have been key so far in the way that Liverpool have attacked.

Alexander-Arnold was left angered when he was taken off in the second half against Brentford/

But while he was on the pitch he was clearly one of the best players and his ability to move the ball into dangerous areas in the Brentford half was crucial for the Reds to create attacking threat.

It appears Slot is content to not use the England international in a traditional right-back role and is happy to let him come inside where he can play more effectively as a playmaker.

This is especially important given that Liverpool plan to become more possession-dominant.

With Liverpool opting for a more controlled and possession-dominant style of play under Slot, the positioning and passing for Alexander-Arnold will be key.

Playing with numbers in the final third

There was a point under Klopp where Liverpool moved away from their high-tempo gegenpressing style of play and looked to adopt a more controlled style of play.

This meant that the midfield were more structured in terms of holding the shape of the team and attacks were slightly slower in term of the tempo of the attack.

Towards the end of his time at Liverpool we saw Klopp move back towards a more high tempo and transitional approach though.

Already this season we have seen that Slot favours a more structured attack as Liverpool look to build through the thirds with a slower tempo.

We have already seen Liverpool squeezing the play into the final third of the pitch and forcing the opposition to defend in a deep defensive block.

They are attacking with numbers and with patience as they move the attack forward.

In playing in this way we are seeing Slot look to have his Liverpool team push the opposition deeper and deeper as they look to defend their goal.

With the likes of Ibrahima Konate and Virgil van Dijk left as the deepest players Liverpool are secure when defending counter-attacks, meaning the opposition will struggle to find a way to safely play out and start their own attacks.

With the likes of Alexander-Arnold and Alexis Mac Allister controlling the tempo and angle of attack, we are likely to see Liverpool continue to dominate opposition teams in this manner.

The more patient passing style of football that is favoured by Slot is effective in terms of creating the structure to play in this style.

Salah starting wide

The most successful period for Liverpool under Klopp saw Mohamed Salah used as the right-winger but with a tendency to play more in central areas alongside Sadio Mane, who attacked from the left, as the central striker Roberto Firmino dropped deeper and linked with the midfield.

In recent seasons, however, Salah’s role in the squad has seen him receive and play more from a more traditional right-wing position.

So far this season we have seen Salah stay on the outside of the attack to provide width.

This has been especially important given the lack of a traditional right-back profile as Alexander-Arnold plays more inside in central positions.

Salah staying outside always gives Liverpool the option to play quickly into more wide positions but it also means Liverpool are able to get the ball to him in positions where he can be isolated 1v1 against opposition defenders.

Under Slot when Liverpool do play the ball wide in this manner to Salah, or Luis Diaz on the other side, we then see them push players high and into attack positions.

This stops the opposition from being able to double up on the Egyptian international striker and as such he can often get into positions where he is isolated 1v1 against the opposition defenders.

There is no doubt that Salah will continue to be a key attacking presence for Liverpool under Slot.

Although this is in a slightly different role than we have been used to seeing him play.

Conclusion

So far the early signs of Liverpool under Arne Slot are promising.

The style of play in the attacking sense especially has been very effective but it remains to be seen whether they can maintain this strong structure and attacking threat for the whole season.