View: 2.7 goal stat shows why Liverpool players are rightly excited about ‘elegant’ Slot system
Liverpool have played two pre-season games under Arne Slot and the new manager is making an impression on his inherited side.
The task of replacing Jurgen Klopp at Anfield was monumental for the Liverpool hierarchy, but the response from the players proves they chose the right man in Slot.
As per This is Anfield (29 July), Harvey Elliott spoke to the media during the pre-season tour of the USA and gave insight into how the players are receiving Slot’s tactics.
He said: “The style of play is a lot different. It’s more about in possession, you know, the players are really excited, certain patterns and the way we play, you know.
“It’s got a good buzz around the team. The lads are really excited to try and apply it in the games. (It’s a) very elegant, Dutch style. It’s very, very nice.”
Slot to bring a more controlled approach to Liverpool
One of the main criteria CEO of football Michael Edwards and sporting director Richard Hughes set when identifying Klopp’s successor was a brand of attacking football that has become a part of the Anfield identity.
Slot’s Feyenoord side averaged 2.7 goals per match last season with 92 goals scored in 34 Eredivisie matches and finished second behind PSV Eindhoven, bettering Liverpool’s return of 2.2 goals per game in 38 Premier League matches.
There has been a lot of speculation since Slot was announced as Liverpool manager, as to how he will set up his side this season, he has been known to vary between the 4-2-3-1 and 4-3-3 formations, but the Dutchman doesn’t view his tactics as black and white.
“I was hoping if people looked at my team they would not say it is 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 or whatever formation you want to call it, I was hoping they would say, OK, there’s a lot of freedom when they have the ball to take it into different positions,” he said in his first Liverpool press conference (5 July). “So, sometimes it’s a 4-2-3-1, sometimes it’s a 4-1-4-1, sometimes we do build-up with three. So there’s a lot of freedom when we have the ball.”
The players play with freedom and roam into the central positions to create a numerical advantage over the opposition and create space for the wingers.
Slot’s style of play could bring out the best from Luis Diaz who molds his game on his ability to beat his defender and Cody Gakpo who excelled on the wing at Euro 2024 with the Netherlands.
The occupied space on the wings can also draw defenders away from the central positions, allowing the midfielders to run in behind and exploit the stretched back-line.
Liverpool midfielders will be the heartbeat of Slot’s tactics
All midfield players, including the defensive midfielder, are tasked with progressing up the pitch and attacking the box in numbers.
This creates options for intricate passing build-up play in the centre of the pitch and creates one-on-one situations for the wingers to exploit the full-backs, a staple of Klopp’s Liverpool when Sadio Mane and Mohammed Salah were at the peak of their powers.
Liverpool have midfielders perfect for this system with the attacking prowess of Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai, Ryan Gravenberch, Harvey Elliott, and Curtis Jones.
Klopp instructed his midfielders to be compact and focus on getting the ball out to the wide players and to press relentlessly when out of possession, but now it seems they will have new attacking freedom under Slot.
Jones also took to the media to heap praise on Slot and believes the style change will benefit himself, and the other midfielders at the club.
He said: ““It’s probably the happiest I’ve been in terms of a style of play that suits me and the lads that we have in our team.
“The principles are the same, but I feel that now the centre-mids are going to be more the heart of the team. We’re not in a rush to attack, we want to have the ball and break teams down and that gives us a chance, if we give the ball way, we can go and press.
“I feel in the past it was a rush to get the ball back and it was a little bit too direct, up and down, up and down. Now it’s going to be where he wants us to have all the ball and just completely kill teams.” (This is Anfield, 26 July)
Pep Guardiola and Mikel Arteta have dominated the Premier League with Manchester City and Arsenal through their ability to grind down the opposition in possession and now Slot will look to do the same at Liverpool.
Liverpool fans are nervous heading into the new season under a new manager however words of praise from the players should offer encouragement as Slot plans to hit the ground running at Anfield.
In other Liverpool news, the Reds respond to £11.8m Marseille bid for Wataru Endo.
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