Two years ago, Liverpool fans stepped into the unknown as they tried to grapple with the reality of their club in a post-Jurgen Klopp world.
It is fair to say that most did not know what to expect from Arne Slot upon his appointment, and although Liverpool had already lost a behind-closed-doors friendly with Preston, their first real impression of ‘Slot-ball’ came in a game against Real Betis in Pittsburgh on July 27th 2024.
Liverpool were impressive right from the get-go on their USA tour, and, almost two years on to the day, Andoni Iraola will hope to emulate his predecessor and pick up a win on his first outing in front of fans.
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But who lined up for Slot on that first ever outing, and will the same players be hoping to go again under Iraola?
Slot was missing plenty in defence
Just like Iraola two years on, Slot had to deal with an international tournament during his first summer at Liverpool, with Euro 2024 and the Copa America heavily impacting on who the Dutchman could work with in pre-season.
Alisson Becker had been away with Brazil, which gave Caoimhin Kelleher the chance to stake his claim under the new boss.
Slot was missing what would go on to be his undisputed starting centre-back pairing in Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate, but with Jarell Quansah having claimed Konate’s spot at the end of the previous season, a start against Betis was seen as a continuation of that.
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Sepp van den Berg partnered Quansah, and given the pair are both from the same area of the Netherlands, there had been a feeling that the then 22-year-old could stamp his authority during pre-season and stay at Liverpool. That, ultimately, did not happen, despite some encouraging performances.
The full-back pairing were also second-string, with Conor Bradley and Kostas Tsimikas filling in for Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson.
Midfield and attack were also impacted by the Euros
After almost nine years of Klopp, Liverpool fans were excited to see what tactical changes would be made under Slot, but, as he said he would, the former Feyenoord boss largely kept things the same in those early days.
That meant a midfield three started, with Wataru Endo trusted for perhaps the one and only time under Slot. The Japanese struggled right from the start, suggesting that he may not be the right fit for the Dutch coach’s more possession-based system. Sadly for Endo, he never really recovered in the eyes of Slot.
Just as he is this summer for Iraola, Dominik Szoboszlai was available, and he played here, alongside Curtis Jones, who, just like two years on, was overlooked by England and, as a result, was free to play for Liverpool.
Slot could at least call upon the services of Mohamed Salah, who was about to embark on the best season of his career, while the rest of the front line had a decidedly cobbled together feel about it.
Harvey Elliott started on the left, with Fabio Carvalho playing through the middle, with neither lasting more than one year under Slot.
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A raft of changes were also made in-game, which saw Vitezslav Jaros, Luca Stephenson, Nat Phillips, Luke Chambers, Owen Beck, Tyler Morton, Trey Nyoni, Lewis Koumas, Harvey Blair, Stefan Bajcetic, Ben Doak and Kaide Gordon all feature.
In a nod to the real quality out on the pitch, Szoboszlai got the only goal of the game, with Salah providing the assist, as Liverpool started off with a win under Slot.
The rest of the pre-season provided further promising signs, and the Reds beat both Arsenal and Manchester United with ease, before a 4-1 win over Sevilla at Anfield cementing a feeling of quiet confidence around Anfield.
Slot rode that all the way to a Premier League title win, and although things ended badly for him at Liverpool, Iraola will be hoping for a similarly smooth pre-season as a sign of things to come in 2026/27.
Liverpool’s starting XI for Arne Slot’s first official pre-season friendly: Kelleher, Bradley, Quansah, Van den Berg, Tsimikas, Endo, Szoboszlai, Jones, Salah, Carvalho, Elliott.
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