Arne Slot needs Liverpool to wrest back control after chastening week

The Guardian

17-03-2025

It has been a chastening week for Liverpool after deserved defeats in two competitions, highlighting their flaws amid a season of Premier League domination. Paris Saint‑Germain outplayed them in the Champions League and Newcastle's muscle left Arne Slot needing to wait a few weeks longer for his first trophy in England.
The Dutchman has indicated Liverpool will use the transfer market this summer to help him to shape a squad in the manner he desires. Slot took over a group of players chiselled by Jürgen Klopp, used to working under him in a strategy befitting his heavy metal football. Only Federico Chiesa has joined over the past two windows and his consolation strike in the Carabao Cup final was his first notable contribution.
There are the complications arising from those with contracts rapidly running down. Trent Alexander‑Arnold, Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah are yet to put the rumour mill out of business, leaving questions for Slot and the sporting director, Richard Hughes. Alexander-Arnold is the homegrown hero capable of leading the club for years, Van Dijk the highly respected and commended captain, and Salah the Premier League's most dominant player, who will need to apply for planning permission for a new mantelpiece in May.
Although Slot is eager for all three to stay the ages of Van Dijk and Salah are a consideration: they will be 34 and 33 respectively by the time next season kicks off. They are still at the height of their powers, though. The centre-back recently said he felt in arguably the best shape of his career and the forward's stats speak for themselves with 27 goals and 17 assists in 29 Premier League games this season. Mid-30s is no longer an age at which to consider which coaching badges to take or whether to become a pub landlord, because players have a greater understanding of what they need to remain healthy.
Giorgi Mamardashvili will join Liverpool in the summer but goalkeeper is not Slot's main area of concern after their past week. Physicality and aggression in midfield were key factors in both defeats because Liverpool could not cope with the stamina and relentlessness of PSG or Newcastle. Ryan Gravenberch and Alexis Mac Allister looked tired from the first whistle at Wembley and were pulverised by Bruno Guimarães and Joelinton.
Gravenberch has started every Premier League game under Slot in a position that was new to him in August after two years of irregular football. The effect of being integral at the base of midfield is becoming obvious when no one else in the squad is capable of playing as a No 6 in the manner the coach desires. Slot wants someone better in possession than Wataru Endo, who is yet to start a league game this season and seems a prime candidate to be sold.
For most of the season Liverpool have controlled games but on the occasions when they have not they have found it impossible to turn the tide. Finding someone able to do this should be an important objective because, even if Slot's main ambition is to dominate possession, physicality is becoming a defining trait again. Football is a broad church of ideas and healthier for it, and Slot acknowledged Liverpool would lose nine times out of 10 if they allowed Newcastle to turn the fixture into a direct one where winning aerial duels was imperative. Knowing the issue is a start but solving it will come only by spending money.
Complaints have abounded about Salah offering next to nothing over the past two defeats but it is difficult to make an impact when his midfield colleagues do not have possession in the right places to find him. Salah was also afforded limited space by left-backs, making it harder for people to find him in the positions he desires.
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Slot has tweaked the style he inherited and this summer will bring more bespoke recruitment because he has found greater variety is required over a season. He has admitted he prefers to face a low block, which allows his players to have the vast majority of the ball and gives them every opportunity to pick holes in an opponent. Unfortunately for Slot possession is only nine-10ths of the law and the rich tapestry of tactics means not everyone takes that approach and others have seen what happens when a physical team go toe‑to‑toe with Liverpool. He needs to ensure his side can mix it up when required.
Midfielders set the tone: if they are able to impose themselves, the team revolve around them. On Sunday the substitute Curtis Jones was the only Liverpool figurehead who offered anything akin to energy but his spark was too late to ignite everyone else into action after a demoralising hour.
Liverpool cannot afford to be bitter about defeats; they need to use them as an inspiration. Losing two games will not define the club's season but could help to shape the next one.