A childhood was expected when Arne Slot replaced Jürgen Klopp in Liverpool. How could a relatively inexperienced coach from Eredivisie Anfield’s Talisman leader replace?
Well, these fears were broken down to Merseyside with Liverpool during the Dutch debut season after Liverpool pulled the Premier League title. He has joined a respected cohort of only four other foreign trainers to reach the top during their first season.
Slot’s success would not have been possible without the basics of its predecessor. Klopp, the only other coach of Liverpool who won the Premier League, made an impressive arsenal with the red during his time and converted the fans of the association of doubts into believers.
The comparison of the two very different trainers and their travels to the Premier League gloss is not easy, but it is a task that we have undertaken independently.
You cannot win the Premier League without an impressive ensemble, so much is clear. Both title squadrons from Liverpool were full of superstars with many crossover between the roster. In fact, eight players who performed during the 2019/20 league – and Caoimhin Kelleher – remain in the current squad, including the majority of the defensive unit and the irreparable Mohamed Salah.
Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane were an essential part of the first Premier League title in Liverpool, but since then they have been replaced by Diogo Jota, Luis Diaz, Cody Gakpo, Darwin Nunez and Federico Chiesa. Liverpool now has more variety and depth in the last third, even if they are not quite the attacking juggernach, which they were in the Klopp era with their legendary front.
The midfield of Liverpool is certainly talented in 2024/25 and stacked with technicians as work horses. There is no longer a place for Jordan Henderson and James Milner figures -of course the less stained Wataru Endo -with the class of Alexis Mac Allister, Ryan Gravenberch and Dominik Szoboszlai, who are instead for the foreground.
The defense is almost identical – Ibrahima Konate has replaced Joel Matip – and Alisson is still between the sticks. This talent vertebrae was of crucial importance in both title fees, although the defense lawyers of Liverpool 2019/20 performed stronger services on an individual basis.
Overall, the current Liverpool squad is technically competent and has a similar endurance and work rate. You now have more weapons available than five years ago, even if you are a less dominant force.
Liverpool was known for her high intensity approach under Klopp. The animated German called for a similar energy from his players on the field, which he received in abundance. They suffocated their opponents, Harrying defenders and midfielder in regular mistakes. When the well -oiled press was avoided, an aggressive line of defense was on site to suffocate the opposition forward.
Her breathless approach worked wonders, whereby every gear worked in perfect harmony within the wider machine. The opponents could not match their work rate or their quality, nobody decreased by an amazing campaign.
But as it often reflected, Liverpool undertook a more measured approach under slot. The Dutchman is a violent admirer of Pep Guardiola, which has become increasingly clearer over the course of the season. The red work still tirelessly in and outside of possession and put the traps on the field, but control is now far more important.
The side of slot rarely flashes in the same way, but they are still able to strangle them, albeit with possession and order and not with pure explosion.
Many of the occupation members Liverpool, to which 2019/20 still bought in differentiation this semester. Alisson has continuously provided important interventions. Van Dijk was defiant in the heart of the defense. Trent Alexander-Arnold pulled the threads with his dazzling distribution. But it is Salah who has proven to be the most important for Liverpool’s success.
The Egyptian has overthrown countless records, while they produced numbers that put his 29 goal contributions in the shadow during the first title victory of Liverpool -and almost solely pulled the red on the crown. If it hadn’t been for his genius, the campaign could have been very different.
Of course he had help in 2019/20. Mane and Firmino together delivered 42 goal posts in the league and took off the wide shoulders of Salah. Six other players scored four or more goals to develop, but it was more or less the forward trium -triumvirate, which was only responsible for Liverpool’s attack performance.
The tireless trio of Liverpool at the upper end of the field enabled them to be more conservative in midfield, with Henderson, Fabinho and Georginio Wijnaldum being used as shields for the back four. With Ryan Gravenberch and Alexis Mac Allister in the machine room, the four -person backline from slot was offered less protection.
Manchester City has been the dominant force in English football since the arrival of Guardiola, but two overwhelming seasons for the Cityzens have opened the door for the success of Liverpool.
City was the team in 2019/20, but Liverpool were over Guardiola’s tired superstars with little fuss. The red ended 18 points over their title gangs and the defending champions, with the third -placed Manchester United scored astonishing 33 points behind Klopp’s men. Talk about the rule.
Liverpool also took advantage of the city’s underperformance this season, but they had another challenger that they could overcome. On this occasion, Arsenal was the team closest to them, and while the red ones were long in the driving seat before they handled the title, the Gunners were in the back of the head.
Admittedly, Arsenal, who ended the second place in the last two seasons, was under her best and expanded the gap between himself and the leader even further this semester. But Liverpool was only able to beat what lies in front of them and they did it with serenity.
Liverpool was undoubtedly stronger under Klopp than in Slot’s debt work. In 2019/20 you accumulated 99 points and only lost three games of the Premier League – two of them came after the title was completed. They won 26 of their opening games and had won almost silverware by Christmas.
While the Slot side was extraordinary and still has games to play, they weren’t quite as dominant. Even if Liverpool win all remaining games, you can only manage 94 points, and your success was certainly less emphatic this time.
But that is not very important. It is not the way you win the title, but the win that counts, since Liverpool has the additional bonus to celebrate the triumph of this season before the supporters of home – something that they could not do during the Coronavirus hit 2019/20. That is an invaluable feeling.