Liverpool will be waking up in the USA on Saturday looking back on good night’s work.
The Reds finally kicked the Arne Slot era off and did so in winning fashion, beating Real Betis 1-0 in Pittsburgh.
It was not a perfect performance from Liverpool – as would be expected – but it did give some indications of how Slot will set the Reds up.
The game also highlighted where the Liverpool squad may be lacking. In our opinion, it is now clear who Liverpool should buy to complete Slot’s new-look midfield.
Aside from what happened on the pitch, though, Saturday was also the first chance for the new head coach to put into practice some changes he’s made in the lead-up to matchdays.
Arne Slot makes Liverpool changes
Slot has been keen to point out that there are not so many differences between his playing style and that preferred by his predecessor, Jurgen Klopp.
To the Dutchman’s credit, that was obvious on Saturday, too. The Reds were intense, pressed high and moved the ball quickly to the forwards.
These were all things Klopp like to do, albeit with his midfielders especially in a slightly different formation.
However, there are also some differences between the two managers. This seems to have been clear in training in particular. Dominik Szoboszlai highlighted the changes in training, while Curtis Jones has given a glowing assessment of Slot’s style, too.
READ MORE: Caoimhin Kelleher outlines what training is really like under Arne Slot
And according to The Mirror, this has more to do with just the drills Slot and his coaching staff have been carrying out on the AXA Training pitches and at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex.
They claim that the former Feyenoord boss has ‘been making some changes’ to how his players are given information and feedback about their own performances.
Slot has reportedly assigned an individual analyst to each member of the playing staff. The analysts are said to go through videos of both training and matches in an attempt to help identify weaknesses and improve performance.
This is obviously not something new and it’s claimed that Klopp and his team were also ‘keen’ on video analysis for the players. However, Slot’s approach is reportedly ‘even more into’ the use of tailormade feedback based on video.
Arne Slot set to add another coach at Liverpool
Of course these methods may not be the decision of Slot alone. It’s likely that the 45-year-old will consult his coaches when deciding the best course of action in any training activity.
With more or less a brand new coaching team being put in place at Anfield, it may take a little time for them to all get on the same page.
And as the group attempt to learn from each other and become a cohesive unit, Slot is about to add another coach to the mix.
The boss is reportedly on the verge of adding a set-piece specialist to his team as Liverpool focus in further on each detail.
With coaches we’re sometimes of the opinion that too many chefs can spoil the soup. But the Reds players seem to be finding it useful and that’s all that counts right now.
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