Arne Slot fielded a makeshift 4-4-2 formation in Liverpool’s opening pre-season win over Real Betis, but the head coach explained it won’t be a regular feature.
The Reds kicked off pre-season with a 1-0 victory over Betis in Pittsburgh, with Slot deploying his side in a 4-4-2 formation from the start.
That meant Wataru Endo and Curtis Jones – until he was replaced by Trey Nyoni due to injury – were the deeper midfielders, with Mohamed Salah and Fabio Carvalho out wide while Harvey Elliott and Dominik Szoboszlai were strikers by proxy.
It worked out, with Szoboszlai scoring the only goal of the game in his role as an attacking No. 10, but it was clear this was a forced setup.
In his post-match press conference, Slot was asked whether his system was out of necessity, and the head coach agreed.
“During the season you will see us play with a real striker, but at this moment we have no one available,” he explained.
“Then with Dom and Harvey we’ve got two No. 10s, so we put them in the position they will play during the season as well.
“That was one of the reasons why we played with a double 10 instead of with a striker.
“That is maybe out of necessity, but for the rest, the style of play, with trying to build out from the back, that is our style.
“Not concede constant counter attacks…”
“To control the game, to not concede constant counter-attacks, that will hopefully be our style during the season.
“There were also, of course, many things we can improve, but that’s normal after two weeks.”
Liverpool remain without Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo as they enjoy breaks after their involvement at Copa America and the Euros respectively, while Jayden Danns was ruled out of the tour due to injury.
Diogo Jota has joined the squad in Pittsburgh but will not be expected to play a major role until later in the summer as he gets back up to speed.
That means supporters could see Szoboszlai deployed further forward again when the Reds face Arsenal in Philadelphia in midweek, with the Hungarian reflecting on his role in an interview with the club’s official website.
“Yeah, it’s a little bit different compared to last year, but we are ready to do everything,” Szoboszlai said.
“I think that’s the goal we want to do. So, if Harvey drops on one side, I’m going to the middle, and if I’m dropping on the other side, Harvey is coming to the middle.
“I don’t know if it’s going to be like this in the season but until the manager wants us to do this then probably we’re going to do this.
“Against the ball especially, we had to do this job with Harvey like if he goes, I cover his back, and exactly the same in the other way. It’s a lot of running, but [I got the goal].”
