Towards the end of the 2023-2024 season, Jurgen Klopp’s final campaign with Liverpool, it was clear that the team — just like their manager — had run out of steam. The season capitulated with a narrow 4-3 loss away to eventual winners Manchester United in the FA Cup, where Rashford and Amad combined in extra time to claim the win. Just a few weeks later, Liverpool would crash out disappointingly to eventual Europa League winners Atalanta, who blew them away 3-0 at Anfield, usually considered a fortress under Klopp.
Suddenly, Liverpool’s quest for the quadruple wilted down to just a lone League Cup win. Hardly the send-off the fans wanted to give their legendary German manager.
Of course, the point of this piece is not to disparage Jurgen Klopp. He single-handedly dragged Liverpool from languishing in mid-table to European and English champions in the span of just a few years. Along the way, he had to compete with an extremely strong side in Manchester City, who shared a fierce but respected rivalry.
Now, with Klopp no longer in the picture, Arne Slot has been given the unenviable task of filling the shoes of the larger-than-life manager. Thankfully, Slot has no interest in being the next Jurgen Klopp — fist pumps, hugs, and all. Arne Slot just wants to be Arne Slot.
“He’s struck a good balance between being respectful to the previous era, and eulogizing about (Klopp’s) achievements. He even said he was very lucky to have inherited such a good squad of players,” said Liverpool-based journalist James Pearce on the Athletic FC Podcast.
“But he’s also put his own stamp on it. You watch Liverpool now, and you can see it already looks like a Slot team in terms of the greater control they have in games. The structure is so much better.” Pearce said.
He points to the losses to Manchester United and Atalanta where Liverpool looked “open” defensively. Now, Liverpool has only conceded two league goals in seven games, a testament to Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate, Alisson Becker — and Arne Slot’s “structure” as a whole. They also have significantly fewer amount of overall tackles (105, 19th overall) and interceptions (59, 11th overall) compared to other teams in the league, suggesting that they don’t have to rely so much on defenders to do their work for them and that their established “system” is helping Liverpool control the game.
After seven league matches, Liverpool is currently top of the league table winning six games and losing one against Nottingham Forest. Manchester City and Arsenal are tied on points and goal differential (9) behind them.
“They haven’t really been tested by a top team yet,” Pearce said. Liverpool’s first seven fixtures in the Premier League were against opponents expected to finish in the bottom half of the table, bar Manchester United away, where Liverpool convincingly won. While it’s true they have yet to be “tested” against a top team, you could also argue that consistently winning against lower-ranked teams is a much more important test to pass than one-off games against Manchester City where margins are so tight.
So, can Liverpool win the league?
Pundits say to check back in about a month to get a better understanding of the answer.
From October 20th to December 1st, Liverpool will be playing the likes of Chelsea, Leipzig, Arsenal, Aston Villa, Leipzig, Real Madrid, Bayer Leverkusen, Manchester City, and Brighton twice — all within 3-4 days between each other. Given the intense workload in a period of learning with a new system, it remains a question of how the squad will cope with the increased demand. The increase in games is something that players themselves are beginning to speak out against, including Manchester City’s Rodri and Liverpool’s Alisson Becker.
For Liverpool, their overperformance so far is a testament to Arne Slot and his ability to get the best out of the players, but the season is long, and Liverpool so far looks capable of dealing with the challenges that come with it.
