After 3 matches leading Liverpool, Arne Slot has had a near perfect start. The Dutch coach's team entered the FIFA Days in September with 9 points and did not concede any goals. They were further boosted by their win over Manchester United.
Slot still uses the framework left by Jurgen Klopp but has made tactical adjustments. The 45-year-old strategist is a cheerful, sociable person but also very strict when needed. The proof is that he took Jarell Quansah off the field after the first half of the win over Ipswich Town. The reason is that Slot felt a loss in the 21-year-old defender's one-on-one disputes.
And it was the right decision by Slot. Ibrahima Konate replaced Quansah and Slot kept that same lineup to win against Brentford and Man United. The common point in those matches is the difficulty of the teams when penetrating Liverpool's defense.
Slot became the third manager in the Premier League era to win his first three games without conceding. Jose Mourinho did this with Chelsea in 2004. Three years later, Sven Goran-Eriksson repeated it at Manchester City. All of this included a win against Man United.
4 out of 5 players in Liverpool's defense have been shaped for a long time. They are all experienced stars including Alisson, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Virgil van Dijk and Andy Robertson. Meanwhile, Quansah and Konate fought to become the second centre-backs alongside Van Dijk.
One problem that limited Liverpool's ability to compete for titles last season was their loose defense and many shots from the opponent. Ensuring that Alisson does not have to save many losses is part of Slot's new plan. Alexander-Arnold could still move into midfield, while Robertson could still move as freely as under Klopp. But the important thing is that it does not lose stability.
A stable defense is the basis for the strikers above to confidently attack. Without a defensive midfielder who plays a high priority, Liverpool will focus more on possession, with Ryan Gravenberch playing the "number 6" role. At Old Trafford, the Dutchman showed impressive match-reading ability.
All three of Liverpool's goals against Man United came from midfield pressure, causing the home team to make mistakes. In fact, Brentford have caused problems in counter-attacks at Anfield but Slot's team rarely showed panic.
Up front, Slot has also brought confidence to Diaz, Diogo Jota and Mohamed Salah. Moreover, the Kop's strikers are more assured in case of losing the ball, with a solid defense led by Van Dijk behind them.
Difficult challenges ahead as Liverpool return to the Champions League. The busy schedule will lead to the need to change personnel to keep the players fresh for a long season.
Liverpool have won 3 opening matches without conceding a goal in the 2018-2019 season, earning 97 points but still second behind Man City. Last season, The Kop had 10 clean sheets after 38 matches on the journey to third place. That number is still less than 13 matches of the champions of The Citizens and 18 matches of the runner-up Arsenal.
This shows that Liverpool need to defend better if they want to win the Premier League. As Sir Alex Ferguson once said: "Attack helps you win games, but defense helps you win titles".
