Slot has made a winning start, but Liverpool are still in development

Ipswich, England – Ipswich Town fans have waited 22 years for a day like this at Portman Road but were given a stark reminder of the task ahead of them on their return to the Premier League when Arn Slott’s Liverpool won 2-0 in the first match of the post-Jurgen Klopp era.

For 60 minutes, Ipswich were face to face with Liverpool, fighting for every ball and taking their best two chances, all with a starting line-up that included seven players who had played for the team when they were promoted from the Premier League, the third tier of English football, just over a year earlier.

Then Liverpool put their foot on the gas and moved the ball faster, playing at a pace that Ipswich couldn’t handle. Diogo Jota broke the deadlock, and Mohamed Salah completed the rout five minutes later. It was one two-man combination that burst the bubble of Ipswich, the familiar Liverpool we’ve grown accustomed to over so many seasons.

Liverpool’s only signing of the summer was on the bench, with Slot leaving Feyenoord to replace Klopp after his nine-year tenure ended. It was a first glimpse of what Liverpool would look like under Slot, but despite the wealth of goodwill surrounding their new manager, there were murmurs of concern among fans heading to East Anglia about the signings in the off-season, or lack thereof. It left them as the only team in Europe’s top five leagues yet to sign a player. So in effect this was Klopp’s team, and Slot has made only minor tweaks here and there since taking over: evolution rather than revolution.

Liverpool initially looked a bit confused, perhaps caught between two philosophies. Passing was ineffective, attacks came down the wings (with the midfield bypassed) and corner-kicks looked to the bench for guidance. They failed to muster a single shot on target in the first half, their only effort coming from Trent Alexander-Arnold – who was switching between right-back and defensive midfield when in possession – when he fired over the bar on the stroke of half-time.

But Ipswich were the only team to have two shots on target in the first half, and were more dangerous on the counter-attack. But for misplaced passes or moments of confusion on the ball, they could have posed Alisson a bigger problem.

But then Slot changed things. The watchword in pre-season was patience, with Slot wanting the team to be less rigid and more conservative in their play, relying on possession and pressing to score. Liverpool played with more intensity and found a higher tempo: suddenly Ipswich looked out of control, their efforts in the scramble were not enough, and Liverpool were able to break them down.

The chances began to come as Liverpool exploited the space behind Ipswich’s full-backs. Liverpool exploited it when Alexander-Arnold’s pass found a gap between Leif Davis and Jacob Greaves, and Salah ran onto it to lay it off for Jota to score. Salah then scored, a one-two with Dominik Szoboszlai. Job done.

This was supposed to be a test of how Liverpool would shape up for the first time in the post-Klopp era and on the back of their quiet summer. Slot spoke of the strength of the team he inherited, and how it would take between five and eight games for the group to find its rhythm. But this also came just days after they failed to get their first goal in midfield.

Slot thought he had convinced Real Sociedad’s Martín Zubimendi to swap San Sebastian for Merseyside, only for him to change his mind and opt to stay at his boyhood club. That left Liverpool in a bind, with a gaping hole at No.6 in the new manager’s system. That role was handed to Ryan Gravenberch and in the first half Ipswich were comfortable enough to move man-to-man in that area, leaving options on the counter-attack. Once Liverpool picked up the pace, the midfield became more influential, but you can see why the Reds would prioritise a deep-lying midfielder. It’s essential to the way Slot wants his team to play and their transitional ability. You wonder if they might be quick to look for alternatives in the next couple of weeks, despite their reticence to buy for that. They still need that experienced leader in the vein of Rodri.

Sometimes these opening matches of the new season don’t conform to logic or common sense. This was supposed to be a real test for Liverpool in a packed stadium full of fans full of excitement after promotion, but there were moments when the excitement exploded, even three hours before kick-off.

“Oh my God, we’ve reached the point where we’re wearing half a scarf and half a scarf,” shouted one fan as he left the station, a reaction that was met with a deluge of laughter. The discussion on the train to Ipswich ranged from whether it was worth putting £10 on sending off captain Sam Morsy now that they were in a league with VAR (he wasn’t), to whether it was realistic to finish 17th in the Premier League and secure survival (which it is) and whether Ed Sheeran would be at the game (he was).

The thoughts came back to them when they were relegated to the Premier League (then called the English Premier League) and how they thought they would be back in the top flight immediately after their relegation at the end of the 2001-02 season (thanks to a 5-0 defeat by Liverpool). But it took two decades, with successive promotions under the brilliant Kieran McKenna leading them back to the top flight.

But as McKenna said in his programme notes, this time two years ago they had just won a midweek game at Burton Albion in League One. “The amount of work and challenge ahead of us this season is beyond anything we have seen so far,” he said.

In contrast to Liverpool, Ipswich have been active in pre-season, bringing in England midfielder Kalvin Phillips on loan, while Omar Hutchinson – on loan from Chelsea last season – was one of seven players they signed on permanent deals this summer for a total of around £70m. But their fans, players and management are realistic: this will be a great journey, but also a tough one. They have shown enough here, though, to ensure they will fight all season long, continuing to play McKenna’s pressing and attacking football with fluidity and freedom.

“We know the group is in a tough spot but hopefully that will help us progress in this competition,” McKenna said after the game. “On the other hand we know there is a chance we won’t get any points from the first two games (with Manchester City away on Saturday), but we also have Fulham and Brighton & Hove Albion, so every game is tough.”

“We have two strong teams at the start of the season, and after that, we move on to our journey and how to improve our performance. We will not spend too much time talking about the league table, positions or points, it is about being fully committed to every game.”

Memories of their time away from the team will overlap with the experience of seeing the Tractor Boys back in the Premier League, but that two-goal Liverpool strike inside five minutes was a stark reminder of what lies ahead this season.

For Slot, it was a mission accomplished and a successful first step in his Liverpool career.