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LIVERPOOL, England — Head coach Arne Slot has turned back the clock to 2019 at Liverpool. Eleven games into the Premier League season, Jürgen Klopp’s successor has made such an impact at Anfield that his team are pulling clear of the chasing pack and threatening to cruise to the title.
Saturday’s 2-0 home win against Aston Villa moved the Reds five points clear at the top of the table heading into the international break, the same margin they built at the top after 11 games during the club’s title-winning season in 2019-20.
But while some things are the same, there are also big differences and if Slot’s team are to emulate the 2019-20 side this season, it will look more like a team managed by Jose Mourinho than the swashbuckling team built by Klopp.
Slot’s approach is all about control. Klopp’s team would score and keep their foot on the pedal, but Slot’s Liverpool apply the handbrake. The new Liverpool might be a little less exciting than Klopp’s so-called “mentality monsters,” but 15 wins from 17 games in all competitions so far this season suggests that Slot’s way can be just as successful as Klopp’s.
But the new Liverpool head coach is as measured when speaking as his team are when playing and when asked about his team’s title chances, he pointed to the pitfalls that might yet be ahead: particularly with testing league games against Manchester City at Anfield, and away matches to both Newcastle United and Everton over the next month.
“If I look at the games that are ahead they are tough,” Slot said. “It will be a tough season in general. Margins are small, we have a margin, but it is small. Many challenges to come for us.”
Liverpool midfielder Alexis Mac Allister was less cautious than Slot, however, when asked whether the club were title contenders.
“If we are top of the league by five points then it means something,” Mac Allister told TNT Sports. “But we have to go step by step. If you asked me before the season started, I would not say we were candidates but now it looks like we are.”
With last season’s top two — City and Arsenal — out of form and falling off the pace, Liverpool are at least taking advantage of the slips of their rivals.
In 2019, Klopp’s Liverpool set a breathtaking pace at the top by registering 10 wins and a draw from their first 11 games, scoring 25 goals and conceding nine. This time around, they have managed nine wins, a draw and a defeat, scoring 21 goals, but conceding only six. Yet they still lead by five points, with struggling champions City their closest challengers in second position.
Against Villa, Liverpool had chances to score more than the two goals they managed through Darwin Núñez and Mohamed Salah — both from rapid counterattacks. But rather than attack in waves as they did under Klopp, Liverpool took the pace out of the game once they went ahead by playing deeper, keeping the ball and inviting Villa to try to break through.
At times, Unai Emery’s team went close and Liverpool goalkeeper Caoimhín Kelleher produced two stunning reflex saves inside 30 seconds to keep out headers from Amadou Onana and Pau Torres in the first half. But for the majority of the game, Liverpool were in control and it was on the counterattack that they looked most dangerous.
“It wasn’t easy like most of our games have been now,” Slot said. “Villa were maybe not as aggressive as we thought they would be, but we were patient. In general, we had control over the game and scored from two counterattacks, which is maybe not what we would expect.”
Klopp’s team had the attacking pace to beat teams on the counterattack, but they were set up to win possession in the opponent’s half and use it with devastating effect. Slot doesn’t have a Sadio Mané or Roberto Firmino in his squad and Salah is now five years older. The Egypt international remains a potent force, but not even his most ardent supporter would suggest he is at the same level as he was in 2019.
Yet, Salah is still a creator and scorer. He made the first goal for Núñez and scored his own late in the game, while Luis Díaz is a key part of Slot’s front line. However, it is the central defensive axis of Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konaté, in tandem with midfielders Mac Allister and Ryan Gravenberch, that give Liverpool their grip on games.
And that is the most obvious difference from Klopp’s team. Slot’s side dictated games from the centre of the pitch while Klopp’s team did it from the attacking third.
But there are many different ways to win a league title and Slot’s blueprint has given Liverpool a healthy lead at this early stage of the season. There will be difficulties ahead, and the next batch of fixtures will be a stern test of Liverpool’s credentials, but make no mistake, they are now the team to beat.
City will come back, and they might do so by denting Liverpool’s challenge when they travel to Anfield on Dec. 1, but Slot’s team are the real deal and they will go into that game as favourites.