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Liverpool impressed, especially in the first half, as they beat Arsenal in a friendly in Philadelphia, providing plenty more insight into Arne Slot‘s tactics.
Liverpool 2-1 Arsenal
Pre-season Friendly (2), Lincoln Financial Field (Philadelphia, PA)
Aug 1, 2024
Goals: Salah 13′, Carvalho 34′; Havertz 40′
Endo ‘dropped’ – Szoboszlai as deepest midfielder
After reports this week came out about a bid for Wataru Endo having been rejected, but that Liverpool are open to selling the midfielder, he was dropped to the bench for this one, having endured a disappointing half vs. Real Betis.
Instead, the midfield looked very different. Dominik Szoboszlai was the deepest midfielder, with Curtis Jones alongside him in the build-up phase of play and Harvey Elliott moving into the No.10 role.
It worked, certainly in the first half, with Elliott getting into the pocket of space constantly in the first half, assisting two goals, creating four chances and Liverpool’s star man according to FotMob‘s stats.
Speed of transition
For a game so early in pre-season, there was something highly encouraging in how the Reds transitioned from defence to midfield to attack, especially in the first half.
It was quick, incisive, direct, accurate and fruitful football.
Liverpool’s first goal was a prime example of just that, with the ball in the back of the net off the boot of Mohamed Salah just 11 seconds after Caoimhin Kelleher had it in his possession.
Time after time Arsenal, who thought they were in control of an attack, were suddenly caught back peddling as the Reds’ midfield cut through them.
It was both impressive and eye-catching with the entire ‘front six’ looking sharp and fluid.
Teething troubles at the back
Arne Slot‘s style clearly involves playing out from the back. To do so requires players of high technical ability, speed of mind and composure under pressure.
The first 15 minutes showed a team still in the learning phase when a quality team presses them high, and we had more than one moment of good fortune as several players were caught on the ball.
The early lessons were heeded well, and the defensive work was much more solid for the rest of the game.
Liverpool’s coach noted as much post-match after Arsenal put them under pressure in the second half, saying: “Of course. I saw the second half that we had a hard time with Arsenal. They dominated possession completely.
“But we defended really well and I was really pleased to see this because [there were] a lot of bodies behind the ball every time they arrived into our 16. Real big, open chances I don’t think they created in the second half.”
Liverpool conceded 13 shots, but their desperation to defend helped ensure they conceded just two on target.
Youngsters excel again, but Arne wants more
This is what Harvey Elliott offers from midfield; two class assists and an overall inventive, clever display.
Fabio Carvalho‘s development may have been hampered for a variety of reasons, but he really came into his own against Arsenal, with several moments of excellence and a well-taken goal.
The Reds’ coach said as much about our youngsters in the post-game press conference, sharing well-earned praise and common sense critique in equal measure.
For instance, he spoke highly of Elliott’s two excellent assists but maintained he should probably have two or three more as he sought to keep the 21-year-old’s feet firmly on the ground.
Slot told reporters: “If I am a bit hard on him, I think there were two or three other situations where he could have done better.”
Discipline over flair
The second half was an interesting watch. Arsenal were allowed to have possession for most of it, with Liverpool intent on keeping a rigid, disciplined and effective 4-3-3 formation.
Even with the raft of substitutions, the pattern continued. It looked like it might have been by design from Slot because there was a clear difference in approach from the first half.
Was he testing the tactical awareness of the squad? Was he watching how our youngsters could carry out a plan? I was able to ask Arne at the post-game press conference, and he confirmed that it was not by design, but rather by necessity as certain players gave way to others.
He admitted he would have liked to play the same style in the second half as in the first but multiple personnel changes combined with Arsenal‘s tactics prevented it.
“I would have preferred to keep the same playing style as the first half,” he said.
“Although the youngsters did really well, I think we had to change a few of our players who have played a lot of minutes for us.
“A few youngsters came in, they did really well defensively but we couldn’t keep pressing them really high anymore as we did in the first half.”
There were 10 changes in total for the Reds, only Caoimhin Kelleher played the full 90 minutes.
Jota’s promising first outing
There is universal agreement across the Liverpool fan base that when Diogo Jota is fit and firing, he’s one of the best forward assets we have.
Back on the field after being criminally underutilised at the Euros, he looked close to peak sharpness and fitness against the Gunners.
His link-up play and touch in the first half were at superior levels to those around him, his deft touch to set up the opener was case and point.
The only disappointment was hitting the post with a chance he normally takes, but given this was his first run out for a while, it was highly impressive from Diogo.
Slot assessed post-match: “Although Arsenal were man-v-man all over the place, then it helps if you have a striker who is smart and is intelligent, knows when to make the deep runs [and] knows when to hold the ball.”
It was our first opportunity to see a natural forward in Slot’s system, and the early signs were promising.
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