Arne Slot Admires Liverpool’s Current Game

Liverpool coach, Arne Slot, expressed his admiration for his team’s performance which showed extraordinary off-the-ball play when they beat Manchester United (MU) at Old Trafford, Sunday (1/9/2024), with a landslide score of 3-0.

Off-the-ball play refers to movement, such as passing, running, feinting, opening up space, and finding empty positions. Players who move without the ball can draw the attention of opponents, creating space that can be used by teammates to build attacks and score goals.

“I was very impressed with the way we played when we had the ball, because I already know what we can do without the ball,” said Arne, quoted from the club’s official website, Tuesday (3/9/2024).

The Dutch coach also said that the game without the ball was not only seen against MU, but also in the two previous wins against Ipswich Town and Brentford.

“Normally I don’t often use the word ‘proud’, but I think what we did really well in these three games was our hard work without the ball,” he added.

However, the former Feyenoord coach also praised his team’s play when in possession, which he said was equally good. “But the way we played with the ball today was also very good,” he added.

The former Feyenoord coach also highlighted the performance of Ryan Gravenberch who always played important roles as a defensive midfielder or number 6. When asked about Gravenberch’s important role, Arne said that the Dutch player has excellent ball control qualities, which greatly helps Liverpool in the attack-building phase.

In addition, Slot also emphasizes how great Gravenberch is at exploring empty spaces and when dueling.

“His ability on the ball is probably the first thing I noticed, but I think because he’s from the Netherlands, we all know how good he is at that. He can be a very important player in building our game,” said the 45-year-old coach.

“But what impressed me the most when I started working with him was how much he could run and how good he was in duels,” he said of the Bayern Munich signing.

Liverpool’s victory this time was achieved through two goals from Luis Diaz and one goal from Mohamed Salah. This victory is the third for The Reds in the Premier League this season. Liverpool previously also defeated Ipswich Town and Brentford.