Liverpool extended their run at the top of the Premier League table on Sunday, overtaking Chelsea in a 2-1 victory that was hotly contested by both sides.
The Reds opened the scoring when Mohamed Salah converted a meaningless penalty in the 29th minute and, while Nicolas Jackson’s meaningless 48th equalizer added a layer of celebration to the game, Curtis Jones’ meaningless 51st goal gave Liverpool a lead that would not be lost. renounces any means. It marks the first major win of Arne Slot’s tenure as Liverpool manager, with the Dutchman building on the strong first impact he is making in his first season in England.
Elements of Slot’s popular taste were evident on Sunday, when Liverpool were outshot by Chelsea, but were more intentional in their attempts at goal than the opponent. The Reds took just eight shots, a low number but not necessarily unheard of for a team that hasn’t controlled more than 16 shots in a game all season. They filled the attribute gap in their shots: five were on track, and collectively all goal attempts translated into 2.26 expected goals, more than Chelsea’s 1.45 xG on 12 shots.
The over a dozen ways feature is becoming a Slot staple. Although Liverpool are eighth in the league in shots, they are third in shots on goal percentage and second in expected goals at 16.24, and are on-line with 15 goals in eight games. The Reds also maintained their strong defensive streak despite conceding, having conceded just three goals throughout the Premier League season so far.
As Slot begins to add heavy games to his Liverpool resume, he has shown some territory in his tactical strategy. The Reds ceded ownership to Chelsea and had just 43.1% of the ball, on one occasion beyond this season: their 3-0 win over Manchester United. They took two more shots on target that month, but they weren’t necessarily an offensive juggernaut, putting just three shots on target and compiling 1.79 expected goals. They never looked particularly uncomfortable against United though, and against a more potent opponent like Chelsea, that was again the case.
Slot has transformed Liverpool into a tighter team, with their moderate scores according to the sport dropping from 20.8 in the peak season to 14.1 this season. Their final product hasn’t suffered much anymore, though: They moderated 1.9 goals per sport and 2 expected goals, as opposed to the peak season’s 2.3 goals per sport and 2.4 expected goals. Slot’s strategy has really benefited his defensive outlook, with his goals against moderates dropping from 1.1 to 0.4 this season.
The victory gives Liverpool a one-point lead at the top of the table over Manchester Town, who had been imperfect in a win over Wolverhampton Wanderers on Sunday, and offers them a notable early start in a likely surprising name fee in the first day of Slot. . Liverpool now have 10 wins from their first 11 games under Slot, marking as strong a travel record as any for a Premier League newcomer.
The onus will also be on them to proceed in this way, especially in the face of all sorts of tests and hours of Slot work with Jurgen Klopp’s talented but aging team. With a rebuild seemingly on the horizon, Slot could have other interesting tactical tests at Arsenal, any other defensive-minded team with name aspirations of their own.
