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Ben Doak surprisingly started on the left wing in Liverpool’s unofficial pre-season opener, which could give the first interesting hint at new coach Arne Slot‘s plans.
The Reds rounded off their first fortnight working under Slot at the AXA Training Centre with a behind-closed-doors friendly against Preston on Friday.
A total of 25 players featured, with the head coach naming arguably his strongest available side in the first half before managing minutes with the introduction of more youngsters at half-time.
It ended in a 1-0 loss for Liverpool, but Slot and his staff will not be concerned about the result – more so the buildup of fitness and the patterns of play shown.
While there should be no definitive takeaways from the Reds’ first unofficial runout of the summer, there were certainly some interesting signs.
Doak the left winger?
Not least was the inclusion of Doak as a left winger, with the 18-year-old starting in attack alongside right winger Mo Salah and centre-forward Fabio Carvalho.
Doak is a natural right winger, though he has played as a striker for Scotland U21s – but rarely, if ever, has he played on the left.
The teenager was involved in one of the brightest moves included in LFCTV’s highlights package, picking the ball up on the left and cutting onto his right to feed Conor Bradley for an effort deflected wide.
His combination with Kostas Tsimikas was a feature throughout the first half, and Doak could be seen regularly turning inside onto his stronger foot.
It could provide two clues as to Slot’s plans for his Liverpool attack, including the development of his No. 50 himself.
Slot’s 4-3-3
Firstly, the expectation is that Slot will favour two wingers in his nominal 4-3-3 shape whose tendency in to cut inside, rather than drive to the byline.
That was a staple of his tactical setup at both AZ Alkmaar and Feyenoord, with an attacking full-back driving down the flanks to create space for his inverted wide players.
Moving inside from the wings allows those attackers to deliver crosses to the far post or feed team-mates in positions to shoot.
Igor Paixao and Luka Ivanusec were prime examples of this in action as they excelled on the left for Feyenoord last season, with only No. 10 Calvin Stengs (7.8) and midfielder Quinten Timber (7.1) producing more expected assists for Slot’s side in the Eredivisie.
Both laid on chances worth 6.3 expected goals, per FBref, with Ivanusec’s xA per (0.49) showing that he deserved an assist every other game.
But perhaps most importantly, given the personnel available to him, it also allows them to shoot themselves – which certainly benefits Salah on the right, but also suggests that Cody Gakpo could be a key player on the left wing.
Gakpo was almost universally considered the Netherlands standout player at the Euros, and he came away with a share of the Golden Boot after scoring three times, with his trademark move of shifting onto his right before testing the goalkeeper drawing comparisons to Arjen Robben.
Luis Diaz, Lewis Koumas and Kaide Gordon already fit that brief on their respective flanks, too, though their style of play certainly varies.
Diaz has a capacity for the spectacular when he drives inside and fires efforts from range, but he has developed more recently as a winger who looks to take his marker on and gain yards before shifting into the box.
And what about Doak himself?
Secondly, though, Doak’s first minutes under Slot could also indicate that the head coach has designs on him playing a part in that evolution on the left.
It remains to be seen whether the Scot will stay as part of Liverpool’s first team this season or head out on loan, though his place in the stronger starting XI vs. Preston at least indicates that he is higher up the pecking order than Gordon and Koumas.
Of course, with many key players still unavailable including left-sided options in Gakpo, Diaz, Darwin Nunez and Diogo Jota, it may have been a case of needs must as Slot oversaw his first friendly.
An example of this could have come with Carvalho and, later, academy winger Harvey Blair deployed as the striker, and youth midfielder Luca Stephenson at right-back.
However, his use of Doak on the left wing should at least offer a hint at things to come under the Dutchman.
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