Sport
Upcoming fixtures will prove if Slot’s reds are the real deal
No Liverpool manager had won eight of his first nine fixtures as manager until Arne Slot. The Reds went one better by winning a ninth match out of 10 against Crystal Palace before the international break, underlining Slot’s record-breaking start at Anfield. It’s a run that has taken Liverpool to the top of the Premier League table.
Slot has already proven himself to be a good fit for the Anfield side. The Dutchman hasn’t dismantled Jurgen Klopp’s structure, but has instead made a number of micro-adjustments to build on top of the foundations that were left for him by his predecessor. Liverpool are playing balanced, intelligent football.
However, the next month or so will determine whether or not Slot’s Liverpool are the real deal this season. By December, we will have a better idea of the Reds’ potential as title challengers. While Liverpool were afforded a relatively favourable start to the season, the period after the October international break will be testing.
Sunday will see Liverpool host an in-form Chelsea team that has so far exceeded pre-season predictions to compete near the top of the Premier League table. After that, the Reds face a trip to Germany to take on RB Leipzig in the Champions League before an away fixture against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.
This comes ahead of back-to-back games against Brighton – in the Premier League and the Carabao Cup – and a testing match-up against Bayer Leverkusen. Having been linked with the Liverpool job over the summer, Xabi Alonso will have the opportunity to prove himself against the club he achieved so much for as a player.
As if this wasn’t challenging enough, Liverpool then have games against Aston Villa and Real Madrid before the end of November – and a match against Manchester City on the 1st December. If ever there was a watershed in Liverpool’s season, and their new era under Slot, this is it. It doesn’t get any more difficult than this.
In an attacking sense, Liverpool have been re-energised by Slot’s ideas and methods since his arrival at Anfield in the summer. Luis Diaz is playing the best football of his Liverpool career while Mohamed Salah has also started the season strongly having already reached six goals in all competitions.
Ryan Gravenberch has thrived as Liverpool’s new number six in the centre of the pitch while Dominik Szoboszlai is doing more to make runs into the final third from midfield and pose a goal threat. Slot hasn’t attempted to reinvent the wheel, but he is doing certain things to harness particular players within his squad.
Defensively, Liverpool currently have the best record in the Premier League, conceding just two goals in seven games. By comparison, Arsenal – widely considered to have the strongest defence in English football – have conceded six goals. Trent Alexander-Arnold, Ibrahima Konate, Andy Robertson and Virgil van Dijk are all performing at their peak.
As things stand, Liverpool’s decision to hire Slot as Klopp’s successor looks to have been a shrewd one. Nobody will ever truly replace the legendary German, but Slot has already demonstrated his tactical nous and has led the Anfield club with authority. Anfield has embraced the new manager.
Nonetheless, Slot will be judged on the success and failure of the team on the pitch and the coming few weeks will be the greatest test he has faced to date as Liverpool manager. It’s impossible to say whether the Reds are genuinely title contenders right now. It will be easier to make that judgment, however, after the upcoming run of games.
