5 Points Clear At The Top of The Premier League Table

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Foreword

Greetings to all and Reds fans, hope all of you are doing well. We've came off an exciting weekend where Liverpool FC under the leadership of new coach Arne Slot have successfully cruised to the top of the English Premier League and being 5 points clear from second place Manchester City. And this came after the Reds did really well at home, hosting Aston Villa at the Reds home ground, Anfield. In today's post, I will discuss a little on how the match went between Liverpool and Aston, but also share insights of what went right for Liverpool being able to climb to this position.

Hosting Aston Villa at Anfield

Formation: 4-2-3-1

GK: Kelleher
Defence: Alexander-Arnold (RB), Konate (CB), Van Dijk (CB), Robertson (LB)
Midfield: Gravenberch (DM), Jones (AM), Mac Allister (AM), Salah (RW), Diaz (LW)
Forward: Nunez

Subs: Bradley, Gakpo, Szoboszlai, Endo
Un-used Subs: Jaros, Gomez, Tsimikas, Quansah, Morton.

While formation look similar to how Arne Slot usually play, but in this match, we did see Slot did some minor tweaking by playing Jones and Mac Allister to more advanced roles, with Gravenberch the sole defensive midfield to pivot the base and releasing balls forward to the attackers.

A new nickname was being called to Slot's tactics and formation, it is termed the Slot Machine.

Match Synopsis

The game started really lively with equal chances on both sides trying to pounce to get a quick opener. Mo Salah tested Emiliano Martinez at his near post but saw his efforts blocked, while Villa forward Jacob Ramsey's strike towards goal was being diffused through a timely sliding tackle from Ryan Gravenberch.

Next big action was when the crowd came alive. From a Villa corner, which was well defended by the Reds, the ball was cushioned out from defence by our Captain Virgil Van Dijk who threaded an inch perfect through ball that set Mo Salah off for a run charging towards Emiliano Martinez in a 1-1 situation. A last ditch desperate tackle from Villa winger Leon Bailey brought down Mo Salah, this tackle could have warrant a red card for clear obstruction from goal. But in this situation the referee played advantage to Liverpool when Darwin Nunez picked up the ball and continue the charge towards Emiliano Martinez. Darwin's quick feet allowed him to round Martinez and cooly slotting the ball into the back of the net, getting his 2nd premier league goal of this season.

However, minutes later Conor Bradley came on for Trent Alexander Arnold in view of a muscle injury suffered by our first choice right back. Bradley came on showing that he was well worthy to even be a starter with a solid defensive display. Mo Salah soon spotted an opening and released Darwin Nunez for another through ball to attempt to repeat the same method of scoring the opener, but unfortunately this time Darwin didn't capitalize and blasted the ball over the bar. Right before the first half closed, Caoimhin Kelleher, the one being called by previous manager Jurgen Klopp as the world's second best goalkeeper, made 2 stunning saves in a row from 2 consecutive corner kicks. The first being a reflex save over the bar from Amadou Onana effort and the second another amazing save after Diego Carlos flicked the ball towards goal from the near post. And with that, the first half drew to a close.

Coming into the second half, with Unai Emery's men after a strong team talk at half time, came knocking with Morgan Rodgers driving in on goal but sliced the ball a whisker away from the post. Andy Robertson then swung in a beautiful cross into the box but Darwin Nunez also went narrowly wide for his effort. Villa had a long throw into Liverpool's box which was cooly handled by Dominic Szoboszlai whom cleared the ball forward. The clearance was met by Villa defender Diego Carlos who headed the ball into the path of Mo Salah, who sprinted towards Villa's box before scooping the ball above Martinez and into the Villa net. When you need goals, Mo Salah is the man to depend on. And the crowd just erupted to the goal, singing Mo Salah's song:

“Mo Salah! Mo Salah! Mo Salah! Running down the wing.

“Mo Salah la-la-la la-ahh, The Egyptian King!”

The match went on with exchanges and attempts by both side to score but it was the Reds whom showed their solidarity and held on to the lead to go 5 points clear at the top of the premier league.

Arne Slot Effect
The work of Arne Slot is not simple, coming in at the end of last season after Jurgen Klopp left the club. At the end of last season, there were so many comments about the need for overhaul in a couple of departments with the most evident one in the Number 6 role to suit his tactics of running a double pivot midfield. While the Reds chased after the signature of highly prolific Real Sociedad midfielder Martin Zubimendi, the transfer did not happen. But somehow Slot can overcome a number of challenge that he faced and bring Liverpool to the top of not just the premier league but also the Champion League's league stage.

Coping with Lack of Signings
No Martin Zubimendi, more exits than signings. How to survive?

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In terms of summer transfers, he had mainly players exiting and only had 2 new signings. And to make matters worse, one was being loaned back to the club the player was signed for and only coming in next season and the other was known to be an injury prone player that always struggle with fitness. With a weak recruitment in the summer, how did Liverpool excel when they supposed to be just surviving when all other clubs were bringing in big names.

There were so much despair during start of season, but Arne Slot showed how he was able to work with existing resources and transform/unleashing the potential of current team.

Ryan Gravenberch, a relatively under utilized player during Jurgen Klopp time had life injected to him after Arne Slot took over. He become pivotal in Slot's tactics and excel in it. He was transformed from being box to box to become a true holding midfielder with the ability to receive the ball back facing the opponent and then turning to unlock the defence, threading balls to the forwards and also being able to control the tempo and winning ball back to start a new attack.

Ibrahima Konate, another player that was plagued with fitness issues during Jurgen Klopp's era found new life as well, solidifying the partnership with captain Virgil Van Dijk to be one of the strongest defence pairing in the premier league.

Curtis Jones and Cody Gakpo are also played into positions where they can truly excel and let their innate capability with passing and shooting be used to the largest effect.

Coping with Injuries and Keeping Others Fit
During Jurgen Klopp's era, one of the biggest problem Liverpool faced was the big list of injuries to their players which ended up requiring loads of academy players promoting to the first team and providing cover in areas that were lacking in dept.

However, with Slot, things were no longer the same. While there is significant players that are down such as the likes of Allison Becker and Diogo Jota, and not forgetting our new signing Federico Chiesa. Slot manage to keep almost the rest of the squad health with good rotation and extracting players early so as not to over stretch his players. This is really good as it prevents players from going burnt out which will easily lead to injuries. Let's hope the players stay healthy as there will be more matches to come with Liverpool still in all the competitions.

Closing
With Slot at helm for Liverpool, I have seen how he is managing the team, the media and also deploying good strategies to break down his opponents even when the team played poorly in the first half. Continue to shape the team, Slot and bring back the glory days to Liverpool FC!

Until next time... You'll Never Walk Alone!