Liverpool win Premier League: What Arne Slot modified to make Liverpool 2024/25 champions

Arne Slot has guided Liverpool to a record-equalling twentieth top-flight title in his debut marketing campaign in cost at Anfield however what precisely did the Dutchman change to make them league champions?

When Jurgen Klopp shocked the soccer world by unexpectedly calling time on his trophy-laden tenure at Liverpool final January, the Reds boss insisted to Sky Sports activities: “Liverpool 2.0 doesn’t stop after I leave. It’s just the start of another project with a really good squad.”

Klopp himself had performed a key function in reshaping the Reds’ midfield in the summertime of 2023 with such success that Liverpool 2.0 had been nonetheless on for a historic quadruple as late as final March.

Nevertheless, they limped house third within the Premier League, with simply the Carabao Cup to mark the German’s last season on the helm.

Slot, who was confirmed as Klopp’s successor in Might, and one other new face on the membership final summer season, sporting director Richard Hughes, determined to stay with the squad Klopp had constructed after seeing Martin Zubimendi flip down a transfer to Anfield.

The duo solely introduced in ahead Federico Chiesa and goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili, with the latter staying at Valencia till subsequent season.

Heading into this marketing campaign, nobody was predicting Slot was going to make the so-called inconceivable job of succeeding Klopp look potential by main Liverpool to only a second Premier League title.

What did the 46-year-old tweak, each on and off the pitch, to provide one of the crucial unexpected championship wins lately?

No fist pumps to the Kop from the Calm One

Liverpool had two dominant paths to contemplate – revolution or regular evolution – when looking for Klopp’s successor. By means of a refined information lens that prioritised elements like overperformance, particular person teaching enhancements, participant health charges, efficient communication and coping with high-pressure atmospheres, the membership explored each choices.

Sporting’s Ruben Amorim – the favored alternative after Bayer Leverkusen’s Xabi Alonso eliminated himself from the equation – and Slot had been the standout candidates within the contrasting approaches, however the former’s 3-4-3 would require loads of time, adjustment and a hefty squad rebuild earlier than Liverpool would absolutely see the advantages.

Revolution didn’t attraction as a lot as slight tweaks to a taking part in fashion that already labored, beneath the steerage of a person who by no means confirmed any signal of being phased by Klopp’s larger-than-life affect on the membership throughout his interview, and moderately leant into it.

Proper from Slot’s low-key introductory press convention, he has proven himself to be the precise reverse of his predecessor in virtually each method, one other attribute that attracted him to Hughes and the Fenway Sports activities Group.

Slot even declined to occupy the Formby residence that was initially owned by Steven Gerrard, earlier than turning into house to Brendan Rodgers after which his successor, Klopp, as an alternative residing alone in an condo along with his household remaining in Zwolle.

In the meantime, there have been no pulled hamstrings whereas chasing officers down the touchline, exuberant celebrations with the followers or post-match fist pumps to the Kop – and the way the workforce have responded to that calmer presence within the dugout.

Nevertheless, don’t mistake that for an unwillingness to make unpopular choices, which the brand new man displayed in his very first recreation in cost when hooking Jarell Quansah at half-time at Ipswich for not profitable sufficient of his aerial duels, whereas each Trent Alexander-Arnold and Darwin Nunez may also attest to his extra ruthless aspect.

Obligatory breakfasts, earlier coaching and staying at house earlier than Anfield video games

Klopp’s strategies had, in fact, resulted in one of the crucial profitable intervals within the membership’s historical past, however Slot was nonetheless not afraid to usher in key off-field tweaks as he bedded in his beliefs in pre-season.

There was an earlier reporting time of 9.15am to the AXA coaching floor, whereas breakfast collectively was now obligatory earlier than classes and gamers might keep at house the night time earlier than house video games moderately than in a city-centre lodge as beneath Klopp.

“People that have more knowledge about this than me tell me that you always sleep better in your own bed than a hotel bed,” Slot defined again in August.

“Sleep is a very important part of getting the best possible performance. It’s nice for them to be at home with their families but also, in the opinion of the people that tell me these things, they are better prepared for our games.”

It’s a change that by all accounts went down properly with the gamers, with captain Virgil van Dijk saying: “Personally, I like to sleep in my own bed and be with my family, and so it works out quite well.”

Much less working means fewer accidents

In the meantime, coaching was now longer however much less intense, with Ruben Peters, who additionally got here with Slot from Rotterdam because the membership’s new bodily efficiency coach, decided to hearken to the gamers in pre-season as to the potential causes for the Reds’ persistent harm disaster that scuppered Klopp’s last marketing campaign at Anfield.

With Slot additionally tweaking the workforce’s taking part in fashion from Klopp’s heavy metallic, organised chaos to a extra possession-based, slower percussion, that means in impact much less high-octane working, Liverpool have suffered simply 37 accidents, with solely 816 days misplaced to accidents this season, in stark distinction to rivals Arsenal – undoubtedly a key issue of their title win.

Each day conferences from a soccer obsessive

One other change from Klopp’s time in cost has been the introduction of every day conferences, with immediate suggestions for each participant on how their coaching session or match day went from a person who’s obsessive about enchancment.

As such, Slot has positioned an enormous deal with higher positioning for his gamers, even in drills like rondos which, moderately than a warm-up mechanism, have turn into an integral a part of his coaching classes.

Actually, when Slot leaves the AXA coaching floor to move to his condo, he would nonetheless be reviewing the day’s session or going over match-specific particulars, with the membership’s post-match and elite participant improvement analyst Daniel Spearritt tasked with clipping moments from video games as they occur to be proven later to gamers because the Dutchman shouts “clip”.

“We have meetings mostly every day,” mentioned Conor Bradley again in August. “Some are short and sharp, some are longer. We didn’t really have meetings last year, only the day before the game.

“There’s variations from what Jurgen did and what the gaffer does now.”

This one-on-one teaching from Slot has undoubtedly caused noticeable enhancements in some Liverpool gamers this season, comparable to Cody Gakpo, Ryan Gravenberch, Luis Diaz, Mohamed Salah and Ibrahima Konate.

Alexander-Arnold additionally credited this with enhancing his recreation.

“If any time an attacker gets by me and gets past me, he will call it out in meetings and individual meetings, and say this cannot happen,” he mentioned in September. “We go through every game together and he highlights where he wants me to improve.

“It’s actually refreshing to have a supervisor who will assist and information and train me find out how to be higher as a participant. I’m somebody who needs to be taught, somebody who needs to be the most effective and somebody who strives to be the most effective ever.”

Refined on-field tweaks integral to Reds’ success

The membership wanted a rent the place the emphasis could be on teaching outcomes, with Hughes and CEO of soccer at Liverpool, Michael Edwards, not wanting a Klopp-lite, nor somebody who felt like they needed to out-do the German within the character stakes, which might’ve been a dropping battle.

Slot’s confidence was not loud or brash. He had religion in his methodology, which had labored at each Feyenoord and AZ Alkmaar and targeted on particular person teaching to maximise a participant’s positioning and potential.

His use of Gravenberch on the base of Liverpool’s midfield – a place Klopp most well-liked to make use of Wataru Endo in final season – has been a masterstroke [only West Ham’s Aaron Wan-Bissaka has made more interceptions this season], as has stationing Salah wider on the precise, with the full-back and No 8 on that flank additional away from him to create extra space.

“This is where you have to give Slot a lot of credit because you can see it was not like that before,” Thierry Henry advised Monday Night time Soccer of the Egypt ahead’s positional tweak this season.

Salah has responded along with his greatest top-flight aim involvements per minute since becoming a member of the membership in 2017 whereas being on track for a record-breaking variety of Premier League assists, and appears happier than ever, not like this time final season when he was seen bickering with Klopp on the London Stadium touchline.

Some have even credited Slot with Salah lastly placing pen to paper on a brand new two-year deal at Anfield.

Elsewhere within the workforce, Gakpo being returned to his consolation zone on the left and Diaz working by means of the center had been different small however integral modifications.

In the meantime, Slot moved away from Klopp’s 4-3-3 ‘Gegenpressing’ to a extra structured 4-2-3-1, to zone in on build-up and possession, with Liverpool’s extra managed fashion requiring much less working and affording extra in-game relaxation.

Not like Klopp, who hardly ever deviated from his tried-and-trusted formation, the Dutchman was versatile sufficient to go to Manchester Metropolis in February and play with out a recognised striker, preferring as an alternative to utilise each Curtis Jones and Dominik Szoboszlai as alternating false No 9s because the Reds recorded a primary Premier League victory on the Etihad with Pep Guardiola as supervisor.

Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson have vastly completely different roles to these required of them beneath Klopp, when as overlapping full-backs they had been fixed attacking shops for the workforce, as their objectives and assists totals confirmed.

This season, nonetheless, the duo have spent much less time bombing over the midway line, with Alexander-Arnold largely trying to hit Salah early with lengthy balls excessive, as seen on quite a few events – beginning on the opening day after they mixed for Liverpool’s second aim at Ipswich, or for the opener towards Man Metropolis at Anfield in December.

Lastly, whereas Slot has typically proven a reluctance to deviate from his trusted beginning XI – Van Dijk, Salah and Gravenberch have began each league recreation up to now this season – his precise in-game modifications have typically proved decisive, as 13 league objectives from substitues this season demonstrates.

“The reason Liverpool got a point in this game is down to the manager,” Jamie Carragher mentioned on MNF following 10-player Liverpool’s come-from-behind 2-2 draw with Fulham at Anfield in November.

“He’s as good as any manager in the Premier League at spotting things on the pitch and making a tactical change or changing things quickly.”