Sir Alex Ferguson, during his successful reign with Manchester United, once said: " only attack helps you win, but defend helps you win titles". This statement emphasizes that if you want to win championships in long-distance races, in addition to having a quality attack, you also need a solid defense.
Arne Slot at the moment has even done well in both aspects, turning Liverpool into a comprehensive team "good at - solid at" in his first season in charge of the team.
According to statistics, The Kop have won 18 of their 20 matches this season. By the end of round 13 of the Premier League, Liverpool were 9 points ahead of second-placed Arsenal, creating an 11-point gap with champions Manchester City after defeating their opponents 2-0 at Anfield. In the Champions League arena, the "Red Brigade" is also the only representative to have won all 5 matches and is leading the group. Not only that, Arne Slot and his students also defeated Real Madrid, Manchester City and Bayer Leverkusen with a total score of 8-0. That is a truly impressive achievement for a coach who just debuted last summer.
In addition to a quality attack, Liverpool's defense has also played solidly, conceding only 8 goals in 13 matches, 5 goals less than any other team in the Premier League this season. Notably, 8 goals conceded out of 125 shots that Arne Slot's team has faced have an expected goals (xG) of 11.6 (Best in the league). In other words, the Reds' defense has been excellent in neutralizing most of the opponent's dangerous chances and has only conceded goals with the lowest conversion rate from chances to goals in the Premier League.
In all competitions, no team in Europe's top five leagues has conceded fewer goals than Liverpool. Arne Slot has truly turned Liverpool into a comprehensive team, with Anfield being the "invincible sanctuary". According to statistics, The Kop have only conceded 4 goals in 11 home matches this season and have not conceded more than 1 goal per match.
The Reds of Merseyside have also kept clean sheets in their last 4 home games against Bayer Leverkusen, Aston Villa, Real Madrid and Man City. In particular, the victory over The Citizens was the clearest proof of Arne Slot's coaching talent. According to Opta Analyst, Pep Guardiola's team took 39 minutes to get their first shot against Liverpool. This is the longest period of time that Man City have had their first shot in a Premier League match since April 2010.
The above figures will be even more impressive, as Liverpool have not had the service of first-choice goalkeeper Alisson Becker due to injury since the beginning of October. However, reserve goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher also showed impressive form when he only conceded 6 goals/11 matches, with the expected goals (xGOT) of 12.2. That means Kelleher has helped The Kop avoid conceding 6.2 goals/11 matches.
It is too early to predict the championship this season, but impressive performances show that Liverpool are worthy of being the strongest candidate for the Premier League title. If he continues to maintain his current stable form, Arne Slot can completely dream of the first titles of his reign at Anfield.
