Liverpool have won their first three Premier League games without conceding; Arne Slot's side sit second in the table behind champions Man City on goals scored; next up for the Reds are Nottingham Forest at Anfield on Saturday afternoon
Saturday 14 September 2024 20:09, UK
Arne Slot has made the perfect start to his time in charge at Anfield, leading some to suggest Liverpool could even challenge for this season's Premier League - so how far away are the Reds from actually competing with Manchester City and Arsenal?
The Dutchman took on the unenviable task of replacing Jurgen Klopp in the Liverpool dugout in June, but already he has broken records by becoming the first manager in the club's history to win their first three top-flight matches without conceding.
The Reds have so far won 2-0 at newly promoted Ipswich Town and 3-0 at rivals Manchester United, sandwiching a 2-0 home win against Brentford to leave them level on points with champions City at the top of the table, albeit in second place on goals scored.
And that impressive start to the campaign, albeit only three games, has led Jamie Carragher to claim his former side may be genuine title challengers this season.
"What this does is give the supporters and the players real belief," he told Sky Sports after watching Liverpool dismantle United at Old Trafford before the international break.
"The majority of the players have won everything there is to win, it gives them real belief in a manager moving forward that maybe this team is closer to challenging for the league title than many people think."
As the Premier League returns to action this weekend, we take a look at why there are real grounds for optimism ahead for Reds fans this season, as well as sounding a note of caution for Slot and Co.
When Slot was announced as Klopp's successor in May, many considered it the impossible job trying to replace the iconic German, who had won almost every trophy possible during his near decade-long tenure on Merseyside.
Not only that, but as the summer months ticked by, it soon became clear the new man's sizeable task would not be aided by any new signings after the Reds missed out on their No 1 transfer target, Real Sociedad holding midfielder Martin Zubimendi.
But having just passed his first 100 days in charge, the 45-year-old has seemingly made a pitch-perfect start to Reds reign, although that will not have surprised sporting director Richard Hughes, who earmarked him for the role.
Hughes, who also joined the club this summer, did his due diligence on Slot and what impressed him most from his time in charge at Feyenoord was his ability to improve players by working with them on the training ground - he is a real tracksuit manager - and his tactical acumen [see the switching of Dominik Szoboszlai's position at Old Trafford].
Slot has also been sensible by resisting the urge to make sweeping changes to a team that were still chasing a quadruple as late as last April, as can so often be the case when a new manager comes in.
Rather, he has made subtle little tweaks to the team shape, with two No 6s now employed in front of the back four, and personnel, with Diogo Jota preferred to Darwin Nunez as the central striker.
Style-wise, though, there have been some noticeable changes from the Klopp era which we will look at, but at the same time we have still seen the famed Gegenpressing that was a hallmark of the previous manager, such as with Luis Diaz's devastating counterattacking strike after defending a corner against Brentford.
And while there have certainly been no fist pumps at full time, or pulled hamstrings after charging down touchlines berating officials, Carragher believes it is vital the new man has made such an assured start to his Reds career in order to quell those initial, albeit understandable, doubts.
"Slot will be pleased, he said. "There is no doubt there would have been lots of questions asked had Liverpool not got off to a good start.
"Those questions of Jurgen Klopp and these group of players - who have won everything - league titles, European cups, domestic cup competitions.
"You want to put that narrative to bed as quickly as you possibly can, [and show] that these players are bedding in and listening and learning from this new manager and buying into his methods going forward.
"So it does help, having this good start that Slot has had."
Klopp's brand of high-octane football, or heavy metal as he liked to call it, was thrilling on the eye, but came with huge risks.
Last season, the Reds kept just 10 Premier League clean sheets and conceded on average 1.08 goals a game, while incredibly for a side challenging for the title, they also fell 1-0 behind on 16 occasions.
Ultimately, that was unsustainable as far as a successful title challenge was concerned and while we are only dealing with a tiny sample size of three matches so far this season, already this looks like an area Slot has worked on over the summer, with obvious results.
As well as the fact that Liverpool have yet to let in a goal this season, they are also facing on average less shots, including on target, less fast breaks, big chances conceded and high turnovers against per game.
The Reds' passing accuracy is also up, as shown against Brentford when they completed 92 per cent of their passes, their highest figure in over 20 years, as the Dutchman looks for more control in games.
"We look a bit more secure defensively," said Andy Robertson of the Reds' 3-0 win at United. "We had a lot more control in our game today.
"A clean sheet is massive. To come away to your big rivals like Manchester United and keep a clean sheet is massive.
"We look a bit more secure defensively. They always say clean sheets will win you things and that's always been the case when Manchester City have won the league and when we did. Three games without a goal conceded is really good and we want to keep that going."
"They always say clean sheets will win you things and that's always been the case when Manchester City have won the league and when we did. Three games without a goal conceded is really good and we want to keep that going."
More percussion, than heavy-metal football, something Carragher thinks could be better suited to a title charge this season.
"Last season was a rollercoaster ride for supporters," said the former Liverpool captain. "Late goals, coming from behind. It felt like every game was like a cup final. Liverpool needed more games like this [vs Brentford] last season.
"That was almost like a Man City performance in that the game felt over when the second goal went in. There wasn't any jeopardy in the game.
"Slot's Liverpool aren't going to be as exciting as Klopp's - that's impossible. But it still might prove to be as successful, if not more successful than last season. If Liverpool win more games like this, 2-0, comfortable, then it'll put them in a great position."
It is at both ends of the pitch, however, that Slot appears to have made improvements from last season, perhaps best illustrated by Diaz's impressive displays on the lefthand side of the attack.
The Colombian was not certain to start the season given Cody Gakpo's eye-catching performances for the Netherlands at the Euros, but Slot opted for him despite summer speculation about his future and he has been rewarded for his faith.
Diaz has started the season on fire with three goals and an assist to his name in the opening three league games, in contrast to the previous campaign when it took him until November to reach that number of goals - his shot conversion rate is up from a miserly 8.5 per cent in 2023/24 to 37.5 per cent this campaign - albeit with off-the-field family matters to contend with after his father's kidnapping in Colombia.
Two of those goals came at Old Trafford, with that clinical attacking display in complete contrast to Liverpool's two trips there in March and April when their profligacy in front of goal saw them dumped out of the FA Cup and lose the initiative in the title race respectively.
In fact, in three meetings with United last season, Liverpool had a mind-boggling 62 shots on goal, scoring just five times, while they netted three times from just 11 efforts in their recent win there, demonstrating a more clinical edge in front of goal as a team in general.
As a result, Liverpool's shot conversion rate is up from 10.9 per cent under Klopp last season to 14.6 per cent this campaign, as is their big chance conversion rate from 38.3 per cent to 43.8 per cent, with the stats bearing out that while metrics such as shots, high turnovers and direct attacks may all been down on average this season, the important numbers like goals per game, touches in the opposition box and fast breaks are all up.
And that can only bode well as far as a possible title challenge this season is concerned.
The one area of the squad Slot identified as needing strengthening on his arrival was the No 6 role, a position Liverpool have been trying to recruit for since the summer of 2022.
So when Zubimendi, their only target for the role, opted to stay at Sociedad on the eve of the new season, the prevailing wisdom was the Reds could not now compete with City and Arsenal for the title.
Fast forward a month, however, and Ryan Gravenberch's emergence as a credible holding midfielder has altered that thinking, especially after his recent man-of-the-match display at Old Trafford, when the Netherlands international showcased all the requisite skills Slot demands as a No 6 in his teams [see graphics].
Slot does not want his defensive midfielders to be destroyers sitting in front of the back for putting out fires, instead he likes them to be athletic ball players who after winning back possession, can then get about the pitch and support attacks.
This was best seen in that game when Gravenberch was both quick to anticipate Casemiro's intended pass for Kobbie Mainoo in the lead-up to the visitors' first goal, as well as in the way he strode over the halfway line - reminiscent of Patrick Viera in his Arsenal heyday - before powering forward to the edge of the box and finding Diaz in space in the move that resulted in Trent Alexander-Arnold's disallowed opening goal.
Again, as the scientists say, it is only a small sample size, with far harder tests to come in the role than Ipswich, Brentford and a lacklustre and malfunctioning United, but so far the signs are promising.
It can be no coincidence that both City and Arsenal had the fewest number of individual players injured last season, allowing them to rotate at crucial points of the campaign and pick their strongest lineups for the games that mattered most, while in stark contrast only Tottenham Hotspur lost more players to injury (22) than Liverpool (21), according to premierinjuries.com.
There was even a period in the second half of the season when Klopp had to make do without the likes of key first-team players such as Alexander-Arnold, Mo Salah, Szoboszlai, Alison Becker, Darwin Nunez, Jota and Curtis Jones, the first three all succumbing to repeat injuries after being rushed back too soon.
How much that ultimately cost Liverpool in their quadruple bid is hard to say, but it is something Hughes and Slot are determined will not be repeated this time around and that is why the Dutchman was so determined to bring Ruben Peeters with him from Feyenord.
Peeters, who comes with a master's degree in sports sciences from KU Leuven, was head of physical performance at the Eredivisie club and during the 32-year-old's three years working with Slot in Rotterdam, they enjoyed a remarkable 90 per-cent-plus plus player availability level.
And the early signs look promising, with Slot so far only unable to call upon Jones with a minor muscle twinge in the opening three games of the season, although the midfielder is now back in training.
So given Liverpool lost injured players for a combined 1,383 days last season, according to premierinjuries.com, Peeters's arrival could prove vital in sustaining any potential title challenge this season by allowing Slot to rest and rotate, especially now they will be playing two games a week.
However, despite such an encouraging start to his Liverpool tenure, Slot is also right to be cautious.
The Reds have been handed a very favourable fixture list to begin the season, not having to face any of last season's top six until Chelsea visit Anfield on October 20, live on Sky Sports.
Liverpool have also not had to play more than one game a week so far, a schedule that now changes with the introduction of both the Champions League and Carabao Cup, meaning the Dutchman will have to start rotating.
"Three games played - only games from Saturday to Sunday or Sunday to Sunday, so there is still a lot for us to prove if we are going to play Champions League," he said after beating United.
"I don't want to be the one that spoils everything but two years ago was the last season that we played Champions League and we all know how that season ended. There is a lot to prove for us, if we play the difficult games in Champions League and still be good at the weekend.
"Three games played, the first two with Ipswich and Brentford were difficult opponents, let that be clear, but I said before I am not expecting them to end up in the top nine. A good start, let that be clear, but still a lot to prove."
And the Reds have not had any adversary to face so far, with Slot's side yet to fall behind in a game, while they have also had no injuries to set them back.
That will, of course, all change over the coming months, with Harvey Elliott having already returned from recent England Under-21 duty with a fractured foot that will sideline him until late October.
However, Slot can only beat the teams put in front of him and given the assured start he has made to the seemingly impossible job of replacing a Liverpool managerial icon, then there is no reason not to view the Reds as genuine title contenders this season.
