Liverpool’s pre-season campaign has produced a combination of results, demonstrating both their attacking traits and defensive frailties. Along the way, the Reds had some memorable wins such as a 5-0 thrashing of Stoke and a stunning 4-1 victory over Athletic Club. They were pushed at times, as evidenced by their disappointing 2-4 loss to AC Milan. Despite the questionable makeup of the team’s performance thus far, they look forward to a new season.
Liverpool racked up four victories in the build-up to the season. They followed this up by beating Preston 3-1 and Arial 3-1, each match looking more convincing than the last. They managed to defeat Athletic Club by a narrow 3-2 margin in what proved to be an exceptionally tight matchup. These players shined, but the team faced some glaring issues on defense in their recent Community Shield game against Crystal Palace. They only allowed two goals against, including a penalty that Virgil van Dijk gave away.
Photo by John Berry/Getty Images Arne Slot has been confirmed as Liverpool’s new head coach. He’s repeatedly underscored the desire to change the team’s defensive approach. He acknowledged the fact that the team only allowed 0.049 xG against Crystal Palace, considering it an achievement of some sort. The scant few opportunities they permitted turned into golden scoring opportunities.
“I don’t feel we conceded that much today, but again, conceded two goals because the first big chance they got resulted in the penalty. And maybe I forget a few chances, but it felt to me that in the 78th minute that was their second big chance of the game. But in general, there were not many chances because they went to a low block.” – Arne Slot
Klopp’s Liverpool had a fantastic defensive record in their title-winning season, Liverpool had the second-best defensive record in the Premier League. Slot is given a serious fight by four main cast in a £265 million pound summer reboot. He now needs to find a way to incorporate all the new talent while keeping defensive stability.
Their exciting new additions feature Hugo Ekitike, Florian Wirtz, Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong. All of these players will bring more quality to their squad depth and already-impressive frontline abilities on the pitch. Slot understood that if he wanted to win, he needed a strong defense of his own. The 2022/2023 team will look to defend their first Premier League title.
“What made us really strong last season was we only won mostly by a margin of one goal and that had mostly to do with us keeping a clean sheet or as a maximum conceding one goal.” – Arne Slot
So many exciting new players are joining the T4A squad! Ryan Gravenberch is expected to return after the midfielder missed the win over Arsenal for the birth of his child. His influence will be key as the Reds head into another huge month featuring above fixture congestion.
Then last season they made a huge jump, offensively, becoming the second-highest scoring team in the Premier League. Slot is adamant that they need to change things up to shore up their defensive line.
“It needs maybe a little bit of adjustment defensively” – Arne Slot
Liverpool have been planning and preparing all summer for the upcoming season. Fans and analysts alike are closely monitoring to see how Slot executes his vision both shoring up the team’s left side defense while maintaining their attacking flair. Of equal importance will be the combination of fresh and familiar faces. Together, they will look to restore past glories on and off the pitch.
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