Jurgen Klopp called it 'heavy metal football' and his right-hand man, Pep Lijnders, once wrote the phrase 'intensity is our identity' in letters outside the Anfield dressing room.
The old regime was known for its breakneck, high-octane, bang-bang-bang style. It blew teams away, even last season, when many wanted to take their chances and take the lead at Liverpool, only to succumb to the quick one-two of goals and lose before they could think.
Klopp's ruthless style laid the foundation for this team, which he turned from a laughing stock and a sleeping giant into a colossus of Europe ready to fight for the biggest trophies once again. But, whisper it quietly, this may have contributed to their demise in different seasons at the same time.
A year ago today, Liverpool were top, five points ahead of both Arsenal and Manchester City, their main title rivals. Champions City then completed a 14-point swing to finish nine ahead of the Reds, while the Gunners were ultimately seven ahead.
A reminder, if needed, that nothing has been won yet and there are still 60 points to play. To outsiders it may seem like a foregone conclusion that Liverpool will romp to the title, but that is certainly not the case in the mind of Arne Slot.
Last season, burnout was certainly a leading factor behind the crumbling of their title bid, as were subsequent injuries, the fading of Mohamed Salah's form, a leaky defense and, well, City's ruthlessness, which after December 6 lost.
So, a year later… have lessons been learned? Can Slot's style and attention to detail help Liverpool go one step further – or is this first half of the season too good to be true? Will Trent Alexander-Arnold's saga to Real Madrid derail their title bid? And what if Salah's hot streak ends?
The first thing we need to discuss is that even if one or two of the above points come to fruition, Liverpool could still prevail. That's thanks to the competitors… or lack thereof. Arsenal don't look as formidable as last year, especially with Bukayo Saka's injury.
Chelsea, according to boss Enzo Maresca's own words, are not involved in the conversation. Recent results have proven that he is spot on.
For fans mentally scarred by City's post-New Year hot streaks in recent years, even if they won every game, the champions would only finish on 88 points – less than the number needed to win the game in all seasons all but one since Pep Guardiola arrived on these shores.
And given Leicester's 5,000-1 fairytale of winning the title when tipped for relegation at the start of the season in 2015-16, we have to mention high-flying Nottingham Forest, who are sure to fade… although they are the only were the team that defeated Slot in 2024. , with Feyenoord or Liverpool.
That 1-0 defeat against Nuno Espirito Santo's men in September, more than 110 days ago, is something that Slot still refers to almost every day. The performance that day clearly hurt the boss, too passive and not up to standard.
They have hardly looked back since then. A few draws along the way, but the Reds player guide is mostly green, with Liverpool scoring fourteen goals in the last three games alone.
Slot's style is less conducive to the aforementioned burnout. Not so much heavy metal but soft rock, still compelling but now more a matter of lulling opponents into submission with a measured, calm approach. A half-Nelson instead of Sweet Chin Music, for the old wrestling fans among us.
Indeed, 'Patience' was the buzzword during pre-season with the boss, who marched around with a whistle around his neck and orchestrated training exercises, repeatedly barking at his troops to take their time and 'kill them with passes'.
Compliments also go to Ruben Peeters, head of performance at Slot, who is described as an expert in the field of injury prevention. There is empirical evidence to support this claim, as Feyenoord had the best injury record on the continent last season.
As shown on these pages last summer, sports scientist Peeters and his team hand over Slot files every morning about the fitness of players and how far they can be pushed on the field. He calls it 'periodization'.
A real-life example would be how repeat injuries were common this past season, with players returning to health only to have to return to the treatment table weeks later. Now Slot has patience with injured stars – perhaps a results-oriented luxury that other bosses can't enjoy.
Diogo Jota has been back in action for a number of weeks, but is slowly building up his playing minutes and skipping some training sessions. The injury-prone Alisson was given a few extra weeks of recovery once he was fit again, just like with Harvey Elliott.
Other examples of avoiding overload can be seen in the number of days off the team has. With a rare free midweek at the beginning of 2025, they were given three days off from training – good for the body, but according to Slot also good for the mind… and the players' families were probably happy about it too.
Slot also scrapped Klopp's policy of having the team stay together in a hotel the evening before the home match. The phrase “happy wife, happy life” is archaic, but Slot may believe that time with loved ones is better for a relaxed mind.
Almost ever-present Alexis Mac Allister was recently given an annual leave of sorts when he was suspended for two games and headed to St. Moritz in the Swiss Alps. Unlike Bayern Munich's Manuel Neuer who suffered a skiing injury mid-season, he returned unscathed.
Key men Virgil van Dijk, Ryan Gravenberch and Salah were also given time off when Liverpool traveled to Southampton in the Carabao Cup last month and it would be surprising to see any of them anywhere near Anfield for the visit of League Two Accrington in the FA Cup next week.
Slot is also fond of in-game rotation and he talks about 'minute sharing'. Kostas Tsimikas for Andy Robertson is a substitution you'll see in almost every game, with Curtis Jones and Dominik Szoboszlai often taking turns starting and an adjustment to the front three usually made on the hour mark.
Considering Liverpool had 21 players injured last season – leading only Tottenham with 22 – this is undoubtedly something the team needed to resolve. Luck is of course a factor and some setbacks cannot be legislated for, but Slot's backroom team minimizes the chance of a new crisis.
Whether physical or mental fatigue was the reason for the late-season collapse, several men saw their form tumble as the green shoots of spring were seen across the country. Ibrahima Konate, Szoboszlai and Luis Diaz are just three who have found consistency under Slot.
Then there's Ryan Gravenberch, undoubtedly the most improved star of the new regime. Signed at the end of August 2023, the Dutchman struggled for minutes in his first year but has started every league match this season, a revelation in his new, deeper role.
We quickly remember Mystic Meg's predictions when they come true, but forget the ones that go wrong. Here's one from this reporter from August: 'Will missing out on top transfer goalkeeper Martin Zubimendi be the difference between another third-place finish and winning the league?'
How wrong we – and the angry Liverpool fans online – were. With only one signing in the summer in the less spotted Federico Chiesa, many thought they were ill-equipped to mount a serious challenge.
Slot was calm about the lack of business at the time, at least publicly, and laughs now. His coaching allowed Gravenberch to flourish and the fans to forget Real Sociedad's Zubimendi turned them down, while the rock-solid defense also made the calls for a new signing seem ridiculous.
Liverpool conceded 1.07 goals per game last season – 41 in total – and that has now dropped to 0.9, slightly skewed by three against Tottenham and Newcastle in December. Konate's recent injury has made the defense less solid, but he is now back in training.
So the injury record has and will prevent burnout, the defense has improved, Slot's coaching has helped many inconsistent stars thrive, and the title challengers are weaker. However, no factor will have a greater influence than Liverpool's talisman Salah.
The Egyptian, who wouldn't look out of place in a Superman cape, has been the best player in the competition – and his teammate Van Dijk is perhaps the only one with a reasonable argument against that – with an impressive 17 goals and 13 goals. assists in 18 league games.
Those statistics might make Ruben Amorim wonder whether he would be better in Lisbon with a pastel de nata and Super Bock in hand. Instead, he takes his Manchester United team to Anfield knowing that Salah can destroy any defence, be it a three, four, five… or even eleven.
If he scores past United tomorrow, the Egyptian will equal last season's goal tally with half of the league season still to play. He had scored fourteen league goals at this stage of last season, but only four of those came in a New Year's Day win against Newcastle.
Part of that was caused by his involvement in the Africa Cup of Nations, which ended prematurely due to injury – much to the horror of the Egyptians when he left their camp prematurely to recover on Merseyside.
He was never the same player after that, both on and off the field. He had a public falling out with Klopp at West Ham in April after being dropped and some pundits questioned whether his best days were behind him.
Now he's looking better than ever after skipping Egypt's Olympic Games campaign to focus on rebuilding his top physique. With 26 games played in all competitions, he is level with the 20 goals he scored in the 2017/2018 season – when he scored a total of 44.
That year they finished 25 points behind champions City, who reached a record 100. This time it could be the opposite.
Thanks to Klopp for the foundations left behind, plus the top players Michael Edwards and Richard Hughes for laying the foundation for a well-managed club, but this is really Slot's team now and the sky is the limit.
Comments