There is plenty of discussion around what has changed at Liverpool since Arne Slot took over from Jurgen Klopp. Perhaps the Dutchman’s greatest achievement can be seen when comparing his side’s situation to that of Klopp’s team at this same stage last season.
As detailed in the new documentary ‘Doubters to Believers Liverpool FC: Klopp’s Era’, around this time last year, Liverpool was in the midst of an injury crisis. Ahead of the Carabao Cup final at Wembley, Mohamed Salah, Darwin Nunez, Dominik Szoboszlai, Joel Matip, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Alisson Becker, Curtis Jones, Diogo Jota, Thiago Alcantara and Stefan Bajcetic were all ruled out.
That’s just one player off a full team unavailable, and just having the likes of Salah, Alexander-Arnold and Alisson absent would be enough to make a big impact, never mind some of those other names.
Liverpool would of course go on to win the final against Chelsea, but it was clear that dealing with the mountain of injuries was taking its toll on Klopp, who by that point had already made his intentions to leave the club clear.
“If younger people would ask me ‘what do I have to do to become a football manager?’, I say first study medicine,” Klopp says during the documentary.
“Because, over the years, you do the job for more than 20 years, I have to make all the decisions. The final decision is always mine, besides who is fit.
“I don’t have the expertise to tell anybody ‘no, no, no, he can play’.”
Most of those players mentioned would return before the end of the season, but it wouldn’t be too far a stretch to suggest the injury crisis had a profound effect on Liverpool’s eventual collapse in the Premier League title race. You can certainly make that case for Salah at least, who struggled to hit his usual heights during the business end of that campaign.
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Fast forward 12 months, and things couldn’t be much more different. Yes, injuries are unavoidable, and Liverpool has had some big absentees this season with the likes of Alisson and Ibrahima Konate, but since Slot arrived, the Reds’ fortunes on the that front seem to have been changed dramatically.
The Dutchman has taken a number of measures which are specifically aimed at preventing injuries. As The Athletic details, a “body wake-up” has been implemented in the players’ routine in order to get the players lightly moving their muscles as early as possible.
At training, they will take part in yoga, hydrotherapy and breathing exercises. Training sessions are now longer under Slot than they were with Klopp in charge, but have become less intense, with more time spent in the gym. Players now sleep in their own beds before home games and nearby away fixtures, giving them a better night’s rest.
Of course, there is always an element of luck when it comes to injuries – or in last year’s case, bad luck – and there’s certainly no guarantee that had these measures been in place 12 months ago, Klopp’s side would have had more of its stars fit.
But in managing to keep the bulk of his squad available for selection for much of this season, Slot has clearly given himself the best chance to succeed, with the results clear to see. A Premier League title is on the way, the Carabao Cup could be retained next month, and if he can carry on selecting his best players, Liverpool will be in the running for the Champions League as well.
