Pre-season has come and gone — technically, there’s still an Anfield clash with Sevilla coming up on Sunday — and the groundwork for what is to come in Arne Slot’s first season has been laid, with the Reds winning all three of their games, taking out Real Betis, Arsenal and Manchester United 1-0, 2-1 and 3-0, respectively.
Now, pre-season scorelines don’t really matter, as we know, but results-wise, that’s just about as close to ideal as one could hope, conceding just a single goal against relatively strong opposition, all while establishing a play style and blooding some youngsters along the way.
Behind the results, though, there is much more to be gleaned about how Liverpool might look under the Dutchman, so below, we take a quick look at three things that stood out about how the team played on tour.
A Revolution Without Rotation
One thing that has been blindingly obvious when watching the Reds in the US this summer, is that they will insist on playing out from the back, the goalkeeper, centre-backs, fullbacks and central midfield pivot exchanging short passes between them, as they look to draw pressure from opposing attackers in order to create space further up the pitch.
When it works, you get the sorts of false transitions that saw Harvey Elliott slide a through ball into the path of Mohamed Salah as the Egyptian raced into 60 yards of space before slotting home against Arsenal, reminiscent of, for instance, the way Antonio Conte’s Tottenham created chances during the Italian’s short-lived tenure in London.
When it doesn’t, you give up easy chances and rely on your goalkeeper to bail you out.
One of the reasons the success of this strategy was so inconsistent this summer was the lack of rotations. The six outfield players mainly involved in the base play largely stayed in their general positions, building from a fairly flat 4-2, which made pressing them in a man-to-man scheme extremely uncomplicated for both Manchester United and Arsenal, as they simply commit four midfielders and two attackers to press the opposing number in their base positions.
During Liverpool’s most successful years under Jürgen Klopp — 2018 to about 2022, specifically — one of the things the team did extremely well was create rotations of three or more players, interchanging positions and turning man marking into a game of how far from your base position are you willing to chase your man. Thiago would drop into the left-back position as Andy Robertson pushed up the flank and Roberto Firmino slipped into central midfield where there would be a space opening up, and so on.
In these early stages of the Slot era, no such rotations have been evident, particularly in the back six, and while there is, of course, still a lot of time to work with, one would hope we see some alternate methods of playing out from the back in the near future.
Diverging DMands
The acquisition of an elite number six — the deepest lying midfielder, often tasked with screening the backline and winning the ball — has been a frequent topic of discussion in the Liverpool sphere for the past two years. Missing out on major targets in Aurélien Tchouaméni and Moisés Caicedo to Real Madrid and Chelsea, respectively, in consecutive summers means the Reds have lacked the stability Fabinho brought to the team in his first four years at the club.
News today suggest the club have settled on a target, and only time will tell A) if this is true and B) who it is, but what appears evident from the style of play described in the previous section of this article, is that the demands on the new defensive midfielder lean ever more towards being able to retain possession, beat the press, and move the ball up the pitch, rather than breaking up opposition play.
Given the on-ball abilities of Alexis Mac Allister, Curtis Jones and Ryan Gravenberch, as well as the profile of Tyler Morton and Stefan Bajcetic, it would appear Liverpool are in fact fairly well-stocked in the type of player that satisfies these demands, but with Wataru Endō definitely not leaving, you guys, it seems the club want to shore up the position even further.
Just maybe expect the new man to be more Xabi Alonso and less Javier Mascherano.
Jarell Quansah Might be HIM
Last season, more or less out of the blue, as Joël Matip and Ibrahima Konaté fell to injuries, Jarell Quansah stepped up. Initially, he was impressive, but in the way young players often impress you: great frame but he needs to fill out; he’s really composed for a kid; good range of passing every now and then.
Then over the course of the year, without anybody really noticing or making much of a fuss, the 21-year old racked up a total of 33 appearances, starting must-win matches twice a week as the season drew to a close, accumulating a frankly outrageous statistical profile in the process.
Thus far in pre-season, Quansah has looked phenomenal. The passing range and composure remain, of course, but where he would sometimes be a little naive in duels before, he has begun using his physicality to great effect when battling for the ball, and where he would occasionally play at the same speed regardless of the situation, he appears to have found the ability to slow down when he can and hustle like hell when he must.
In short, and no disrespect intended to Ibrahima Konaté, who remains an elite centre-back and a unique combination of physicality and on-ball ability, Quansah might be the preferred starter next to Virgil van Dijk this season, as well as, whisper it, the heir to the Dutchman’s throne.
You might call me crazy, but I think excited is more accurate.
