After the final whistle at Old Trafford, Arne Slot raised his proud fist to celebrate. That image reminds Liverpool fans of former coach Jurgen Klopp.
From resounding victories over Ipswich Town and Brentford, Liverpool easily defeated arch-rivals Man United 3-0 away. The game is still very long but that is enough for Arne Slot to affirm that he is not a lucky man when "there is no need to do anything" but still inherits a very good squad from Jurgen Klopp.
Since George Kay 88 years ago, no Liverpool manager has won at Old Trafford in the first leg of the season. The Dutch strategist is also the first captain in the club's history to win all 3 opening matches without conceding a goal.
This past summer, when Klopp was about to leave Anfield, Xabi Alonso was the first name mentioned, not Arne Slot. When he was determined to be in the hot seat, Slot was also involved in many doubts when he was considered not good enough to continue his predecessor's great legacy.
Liverpool's current stability is surprising. Not only that, the 45-year-old coach has also restored the form of some key players, typically Luis Diaz. Last season, it was not until November that the Colombian striker scored 3 goals in the Premier League. This season, he only needs the first 3 rounds to do that.
Following the new team from Old Trafford, rookie Federico Chiesa repeatedly appeared surprised. Perhaps, Chiesa did not think that his team would play so quickly, strongly and well.
Back to Slot, the current approach to Liverpool is completely different from Klopp. The Kop have Klopp in hand like a fierce animal, always launching attacks regardless of the time and score. Slot, meanwhile, has calmed down. In the English Derby last weekend, Liverpool did not actually take the initiative to attack their opponents, they waited for Man United to make a mistake before punishing.
With the score at 3-0 and about 30 minutes left until the end of the match, Slot let his players slow down and gradually withdrew the pillars to save energy. Liverpool can continue to score if they speed up, but Slot needs long-distance personnel. A 3-0 away win is enough, not necessarily 7-0.
Another admitable point of Slot is his available personnel skills. Slot has had just one new signing Chiesa throughout the summer transfer window. Not only that, he can only gather the squad fully before the Premier League starts this season just 2 weeks. To shorten the preparation time, Slot had many tactical meetings with his students and luckily for him, they were all accepted and operated smoothly almost immediately.
Martin Zubimendi didn't come, it's okay! Slot has taken advantage of Ryan Gravenberch very well. From being considered a mid-level player, the former Ajax Amsterdam star played well against Man United and became a real danger for The Kop's midfield. Gravenberch has won 7/10 duels, 2 successful tackles and 4 perfect interceptions.
Everything is fine for Liverpool now, but the question is, in the coming time, when the Champions League, FA Cup and League Cup return together, will this Kop squad still maintain stability and avoid maximum injury? In recent seasons, Liverpool have had problems with that every year. If he can successfully overcome it, Arne Slot is worthy of being the perfect successor to Jurgen Klopp at Anfield.
