Arsenal
Aston Villa
Chelsea
Crystal Palace
Everton
Fulham
Liverpool
Manchester City
Manchester United
Newcastle United
Nottingham Forest
Southampton
Tottenham Hotspur
West Ham United
Wolverhampton Wanderers
News
The major change Arne Slot has made at Liverpool after taking over from Jurgen Klopp
Jurgen Klopp brought the curtain down on his Liverpool career at the end of the 2023-24 campaign as he was replaced by Arne Slot at the helm.
The German opted to walk away after eight-and-a-half seasons in charge of the club and Liverpool moved quickly to bring in Slot▨, who enjoyed impressive spells in the Netherlands with AZ Alkmaar and Feyenoord.
And if the first few weeks of the new Premier League🐬 season are anything to go by, Liverpool’s decision to appoint the Dutchman has already proved to be a masterstroke.
🦂Slot has got the Reds playing some fantastic football and has spearheaded them to three wins from as many games, with their 3-0 win against Manchester United at Old Trafford the biggest feather in his cap so far.
While his philosophy is cut from the same cloth as Klopp’s in many ways, Steve Nicol﷽ has highlighted one of the biggest changes at Liverpool since Slot’s arrival.
Steve Nicol compares Arne Slot and Jurgen Klopp’s philosophies at Liverpool
Nicol suggests Liverpool are more resolute defensively under Slot, highlighting the fact that Alexis Mac Allister and Ryan Gravenberch💛 have always remained rooted to their respective positions in the base of the midfield.
ꦺ“Under Klopp, Liverpool’s front three and the middle three really squeezed the life out of the opposition home and away,” Nicol said on ESPN FC’s YouTube channel.
🌟“The thing I’m interested in [under Arne Slot] is what’s going on in the defensive side of the game. [Diogo] Jota, [Luis] Diaz, [Mohamed] Salah and [Dominik] Szoboszlai close the opposition from playing the ball out. [Alexis] Mac Allister and [Ryan] Gravenberch are the interesting ones for me.
🎐“They never got in the box and I certainly don’t remember it happening – that’s the completely opposite of what was going on under Klopp.”
꧂The Liverpool icon also believes the Reds defend more as a unit under Slot, while under Klopp, they were usually prone to threats from counterattacks as they threw too many bodied forward to win the ball back.
ꦰ“Klopp had given everybody other than the two centre-backs freedom. Whenever Liverpool turned the ball over, there were only two centre-backs staying back.
ꩲ“Particularly over the last two seasons, they got done on the counterattack – whether it was at Anfield or away from home – it was frightening. They ended up making Alisson make one-on-one saves.
⭕“That absolutely hasn’t happened this season. Liverpool have always had numbers there and that to me is huge. That means, away from home, Liverpool are going to win games without being at their best because they are not going to give goals away.”
How have Liverpool fared under Slot?
💎With three wins and as many clean sheets from their first three Premier League games, Slot couldn’t have possibly asked for a better start to his Anfield career.
𓄧Mohamed Salah feels Liverpool have a more ‘controlled’ style of play under Slot, and the proof is in the pudding.
𓆏The Reds have looked comfortable in each of their first three Premier League games and boast the highest xG (5.3) and the lowest xG conceded (1) – which is a clear sign that the players have taken well to the new manager.
♍One of the main reasons behind Liverpool appointing Slotꩵ was also his ability to develop young players, with the Reds keen to build on Klopp’s legacy at the club.
൩It might be early days, but things are going well for Liverpool as they aim to shape a new era under the Dutchman.