By Jack Lusby, ThisIsAnfield.com
Slot‘s task in succeeding one of the most legendary managers in Liverpool history was not an enviable one. After all, how do you go about following an act like Jürgen Klopp?
Well, by crushing all in his path and becoming one of only five coaches to win the Premier League title in his first season in England.
The Dutchman is also one of only three Liverpool managers to win a top-flight title in his first campaign, following Joe Fagan and Kenny Dalglish, and – obviously – joins Klopp as the only other manager to win the Premier League for the club.
Klopp’s success came in his fifth season in charge, not his first, and while Slot has credited the German for laying the foundations for his own glory, he himself deserves recognition for how he has achieved it.
With Federico Chiesa the only new signing and the oft-injured Joel Matip and Thiago and fringe players Adrian and Fabio Carvalho the only first-teamers to depart, Slot has led a title-winning revolution from within.
Here are five changes Slot made to make Liverpool champions of the Premier League.
Less running, fewer injuries
While Slot has retained the core principles of Klopp’s system there have been some notable tweaks, not least in how Liverpool approach play on and off the ball.
During pre-season, Curtis Jones explained that he and his fellow midfielders would go from “runners” under Klopp to “the heart of the team” for Slot.
“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,” he told reporters.
“Now it’s going to be where he wants us to have all the ball and just completely kill teams.”
While there has been no major shift in Liverpool’s numbers in terms of overall possession it is the way in which they use it that has changed; more deliberate and more economical.
That extends to the approach in training, with a less-intense style leading to fewer injuries as players are not required to overexert themselves.
Keeping key players fit is, after all, key to performance – and that has been central to Liverpool’s success.
Making Van Dijk and Salah even better
Two players who have been consistently available throughout Slot’s debut season are his leaders, Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah.
That is fortunate, as the head coach has unsurprisingly installed them as two of the most important cogs in his system: Van Dijk as a progressive, ball-playing centre-back and Salah as a phenomenal source of goals and assists.
“I told him ‘as long as you rest me defensively, I will provide offensively’,” Salah explained after the 5-1 victory over Tottenham which clinched the title.
“Try to rest me as much as I can, then I will show you the numbers. So I’m glad that I did.”
Salah is on course to record his most productive season ever and that emphasis on Van Dijk bringing the ball out from the back – and Trent Alexander-Arnold lofting balls over the top – has been key to allowing him to do so.
Simplifying roles
One criticism that can be levied against Klopp in his final season in charge was that his setup – increasingly inspired by assistant Pepijn Lijnders – became too complicated.
Lijnders’ innovations were certainly effective, but often in bursts, with comparisons to be made between the Dutchman and Klopp’s predecessor Brendan Rodgers.
It became clear early on that Slot would not follow suit.
Cody Gakpo, who played a utility role under Klopp – most often as a central striker but even at times as a midfielder – was swiftly restored to his natural position on the left wing and has flourished.
Alexis Mac Allister, shunted into the No. 6 role after failed bids for Moisés Caicedo and Roméo Lavia, has been one of the most influential players in the league having been freed up as a more advanced No. 8.
And Alexander-Arnold, who became a hybrid of right-back and midfielder in Klopp’s final season, was reinstated as a more orthodox full-back, no longer burdened by a mess of duties and no longer creating holes in his own defence.
Building around Gravenberch
The decision to push Mac Allister forward may have been an even bolder one considering Liverpool again failed to land their priority target for the No. 6 role last summer.
But Slot took a late U-turn from Real Sociedad midfielder Martin Zubimendi as a blessing in disguise as he instead turned to his compatriot, Ryan Gravenberch.
Having followed him closely during his time in the Netherlands with Ajax, Slot will have been confident Gravenberch was capable of developing into a top-level No. 6.
Even he is unlikely to have predicted how quickly the 22-year-old would produce world-class form, but it is a welcome revelation as Liverpool were able to build around him toward success.
Changing routines
Throughout Slot’s first season the players have often spoken of the benefits of freshening things up.
Klopp himself acknowledged that with his decision to move on last summer rather than endure and see out the contract he had agreed to, and it has clearly had an impact on how they perform.
Central to this new era have been a number of changes to the squad’s routine.
For example, whenever possible they no longer stay at a team hotel before games, with Slot recognising the importance of sleeping in their own beds at home in getting the best results.
Their days at the AXA Training Centre are longer, with Slot implementing a communal breakfast, but they are also less demanding in terms of workload.
It is perhaps notable that Lee Richardson, the psychologist appointed in 2019, has been a more focal presence around training sessions, with the new head coach clearly not shying away from the value of therapy in sports.
While Klopp is rightly credited as a world-class man-manager, there is a sense that the Liverpool squad are now being treated more as people rather than machines in terms of their workload.
This has clearly paid off, and this should only be the start of an exciting new era for the club under Slot.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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