Jurgen Klopp called it ‘heavy metal football’ and his right-hand man, Pep Lijnders, once had the phrase ‘intensity is our identity’ put up in lettering outside the dressing room at Anfield.
The old regime was famed for its breakneck, high-octane, bang-bang-bang style. It blew teams away, even last term when many would fancy their chances and be leading at Liverpool only to succumb to the quick one-two of goals and be losing before they could pause for thought.
Klopp’s relentless style was the making of this team, who he turned from a laughing stock and sleeping giant to a behemoth of Europe once more ready to fight for the biggest prizes. But, whisper it quietly, this simultaneously may have contributed to their downfall in several seasons.
One year ago today, Liverpool were top, five points clear of both Arsenal and Manchester City, their main title rivals. Champions City achieved a 14-point swing on that to finish nine clear of the Reds, the Gunners ending up seven ahead.
A reminder, if needed, that nothing is won yet and 60 points are still to play for. It may look like a foregone conclusion to outside observers that Liverpool will romp to the title – but that is certainly not the case in the mind of Arne Slot.
Last term, burnout was certainly a leading factor behind their title bid crumbling, as were subsequent injuries, Mohamed Salah’s form fading, a leaky defence and, well, the relentlessness of City who did not lose after December 6.
Jurgen Klopp called it ‘heavy metal football’ and his right-hand man, Pep Lijnders, once had the phrase ‘intensity is our identity’ put up in lettering outside the dressing room at Anfield
The old regime was famed for its breakneck, high-octane style and it yielded results
Klopp’s relentless style was the making of this team, who he turned into a considerable force
So, a year on… have lessons been learned? Can Slot’s style and attention to detail help Liverpool go one better – or is this first half-season too good to be true? Will the Trent Alexander-Arnold to Real Madrid saga derail their title tilt? And what if Salah’s hot streak ends?
The first thing to address is that, even if one or two of the above come to fruition, Liverpool could still triumph. That is thanks to the competitors… or lack thereof. Arsenal do not look as formidable as last year, especially with Bukayo Saka’s injury.
Chelsea are, by boss Enzo Maresca’s own words, not in the conversation. Recent results have proved him to be spot on.
For those fans mentally scarred by City’s post-New Year hot streaks in recent years, even if they won every game the champions would only finish on 88 points – fewer than the tally needed to win it in all but one season since Pep Guardiola’s arrival on these shores.
And given Leicester’s 5,000-1 fairytale of winning the title when tipped for relegation at the start of the season in 2015-16, we must mention high-flying Nottingham Forest who will surely fade… though they were the only team to beat Slot in 2024, with Feyenoord or Liverpool.
That 1-0 defeat at the hands of Nuno Espirito Santo’s men in September, more than 110 days ago, is something that Slot still references almost daily. The performance that day clearly hurt the boss, too passive and not up to standard.
They have barely looked back since. A couple of draws along the way but the Reds form guide is mainly coloured in green, with Liverpool scoring 14 goals in the last three games alone.
Slot’s style is less conducive to the aforementioned burnout. Not so much heavy metal but soft rock, still enthralling but now more a case of lulling opponents into submission with a measured, calm approach. A half-Nelson rather than Sweet Chin Music, for those old wrestling fans among us.
Burnout was certainly a leading factor behind their title bid crumbling last time out
Slot’s style is less conducive to the aforementioned burnout as he bids to win the title
Indeed, ‘patience’ was the buzzword from pre-season with the boss, who marched around with a whistle strapped around his neck orchestrating training drills, repeatedly barking at his troops to take their time and ‘kill them with passes’.
Props to Ruben Peeters, too, Slot’s head of performance who has been described as an injury prevention expert. There is empirical evidence to back up said claim as Feyenoord had the best injury record on the continent last season.
As detailed in these pages last summer, sports science graduate Peeters and his team hand Slot dossiers each morning on the fitness of players and how far they can be pushed on the pitch. He calls it ‘periodisation’.
A real-life example would be how repeated injuries were commonplace last term, with players returning to health only to be forced back on to the treatment table weeks later. Now, Slot is patient with injured stars – perhaps a result-driven luxury other bosses cannot enjoy.
Diogo Jota has been back in contention for several weeks now but is building his matchday minutes slowly and skipped some training sessions, injury-prone Alisson was given a few weeks of extra recovery when he was fit again, likewise with Harvey Elliott.
Further instances of avoiding overloading have been seen in the amount of days off the squad have. With a rare free midweek to start 2025, they were given three days away from training – good for the body but, Slot believes, also good for the mind… and it probably kept the players’ families happy to boot.
Slot also scrapped Klopp’s policy of the team staying together in a hotel the night before home matches. The phrase ‘happy wife, happy life’ is archaic but Slot may believe time with loved ones is better for a relaxed mind.
Alexis Mac Allister, a near ever-present, was allowed some annual leave of sorts recently when he was suspended for two games and he jetted off to St Moritz in the Swiss Alps. Unlike Bayern Munich’s Manuel Neuer suffering a mid-season skiing injury, he came back in one piece.
The buzzword around the new manager in pre-season was ‘patience’ – and it has shown
Slot’s head of performance Ruben Peeters has been described as an injury prevention expert (pictured with Trent Alexander-Arnold above)
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Key men Virgil van Dijk, Ryan Gravenberch and Salah were also given time off when Liverpool travelled to Southampton in the Carabao Cup last month and it would be surprising to see any of them anywhere near Anfield for the visit of League Two Accrington in the FA Cup next week.
Slot is also keen on in-game rotation and he talks about ‘sharing minutes’. Kostas Tsimikas for Andy Robertson is a substitution seen nearly every game, Curtis Jones and Dominik Szoboszlai often taking turns to start and a tweak to the front three usually made on the hour mark.
Given Liverpool had 21 players suffer injuries last season – topped only by Tottenham on 22 – this is undoubtedly one thing the team had to fix. Luck is of course a factor and some knocks cannot be legislated for but Slot’s backroom team are minimising the chances of another crisis.
Whether physical or mental fatigue was the reason for a late-season collapse, several men saw their form tumble as the green shoots of spring were seen around the country. Ibrahima Konate, Szoboszlai and Luis Diaz are just three who have found consistency under Slot.
Then there is Ryan Gravenberch, without question the most-improved star of the new regime. Signed in late August 2023, the Dutchman struggled for minutes in his first year but has started every single league game this term, a revelation in his new deeper-lying role.
We are quick to recall Mystic Meg predictions when they come true, but forget about the ones that go awry. Here is one from this reporter in August: ‘Will missing out on top transfer target Martin Zubimendi be the difference between another third-place finish and winning the league?’
How wrong we – and angry Liverpool fans online – were. With just one signing in the summer in the lesser-spotted Federico Chiesa, many thought they were ill-equipped to mount a serious challenge.
Slot was calm about the lack of business then, publically at least, and is laughing now. His coaching has allowed Gravenberch to thrive and make fans forget about Real Sociedad’s Zubimendi rejecting them, the steely defence also making a mockery of calls for a new signing.
Key men Virgil van Dijk, Ryan Gravenberch and Salah were also given time off when Liverpool travelled to Southampton in the Carabao Cup last month
Slot’s coaching has helped many inconsistent stars thrive but no one factor will have a bigger influence, though, than Liverpool’s talisman Salah
Liverpool conceded 1.07 goals per game last season – 41 in total – and that has dropped to 0.9 now, skewed slightly by letting in three against Tottenham and Newcastle in December. Konate’s recent injury has seen the defence become less solid but he is now back in training.
So the injury record has and will prevent burnout, the defence has improved, Slot’s coaching has helped many inconsistent stars thrive and the title challengers are weaker. No one factor will have a bigger influence, though, than Liverpool’s talisman Salah.
The Egyptian, who would not look out of place wearing a Superman cape, has been the best player in the league – and his team-mate Van Dijk may be the only one with a reasonable argument against that – with a staggering 17 goals and 13 assists in 18 league games.
Those stats may have Ruben Amorim pondering whether he would be better back in Lisbon with a pastel de nata and Super Bock in hand. Instead, he takes his Manchester United team to Anfield knowing Salah can destroy any defence, be it a back three, four, five… or even 11.
If he does score past United tomorrow, the Egyptian will match last season’s goal tally with half of the league season to play. He had netted 14 league goals at this stage of last season but just four came after a New Year’s Day brace over Newcastle.
Part of that was caused by his involvement in the Africa Cup of Nations, which ended early through injury – much to the disgust of Egyptians as he left their camp prematurely to recover on Merseyside.
He was never the same player after that, on or off the pitch. He had a public spat with Klopp at West Ham in April after being dropped and some pundits questioned whether his best days were behind him.
Now, he looks in better shape than ever after he was allowed to skip Egypt’s Olympics campaign to focus on getting back into peak physique. With 26 games played across competitions, he is dead level with the 20 goals he had at this point of 2017-18 – when he went on to net 44 in total.
That year, they finished 25 points behind champions City, who reached a record-breaking 100. It could be the opposite this time around.
Credit to Klopp for the foundations left behind, plus the top brass Michael Edwards and Richard Hughes for laying the groundwork at a well-run club, but this is now truly Slot’s team and the sky is the limit.
