Seven seasons and several nearly-sacked moments passed before Sir Alex Ferguson raised the first of his 13 league trophies for Manchester United; Pep Guardiola and Arsene Wenger were lucky the second time; Jurgen Klopp’s labours lasted five years. The celebrated Thomas Tuchel, Erik Ten Hag and Mauricio Pochettino left the treacherous shores with their dreams unfulfilled. But an obscure and unfashionable Dutchman, Arne Slot, is on the verge of lifting the Premier League title in his maiden season with Liverpool. A Champions League silverware doesn’t look improbable either, making his first season one of the most spectacular ones in the league’s history. The methods, bereft of any node of madness, behind the season of Liverpool resurgence. What has Slot brought to Liverpool? The 46-year-old is not a football radical or revolutionary, like his predecessor Klopp or Guardiola. His tactics are simple, practical and without flash and frills. The virtue that defines his Liverpool is control, as opposed to systematic chaos under Klopp. The Reds are precise, methodical and measured in their approach. The emphasis has been on eradicating errors and not demolishing opponents; of controlled possession than chaotic pressing. Apart from the game against bottom-dwellers Southampton and struggling West Ham United, they have largely won by two-goal margins (eight of the 21 games were 2-0 wins). It’s the scoreline of champions, Ferguson often said. Slot’s Liverpool might nor thrill like Klopp’s but spare the fans of shooting heart-rates. The energy is not wild and raw, but smooth and synergetic. Trenchant rearguards and last-gasp draws or victories have been rare. What have been his tactics? The framework is an attacking 4-3-3. But they don’t attack forthright and don’t mind the opposition enjoying sterile possession. They don’t pressure the opposite numbers maddeningly to make mistakes, the predominant feature of Klopp’s characteristic gegenpress. Rather, they wait for the mistakes and pounce on them. The transitions are supersonic, the movements swift, like a sudden change in tide, the calm currents transforming into a violent wave in the blink of an eyelid. He builds attack through switches of play, but not from one flank to the other with long diagonal crosses, but positioning wingers high and wide and quickly supplying the ball to them, to create more one on one situations. To gain midfield control, he usually deploys two highly technical double pivots. That explains the resurrection of Ryan Gravenberch, who was a peripheral figure in Klopp’s schemes. But under Slot, he has flourished into one of Liverpool’s most influential players of the season, offering stability in the middle. No one has made as many interceptions (50) as him this season, explaining his game-disrupting influence. There is a fixation to play from the back, employing short passes like Brighton under Roberto De Zerbi. Little wonder that nobody has made as many passes as the commanding centre-back Virgil van Dijk (2,082). There is less reliance on through balls as well. Have Liverpool been over-reliant on Mohammad Salah? When someone helms the goalscoring (27) and assisting charts (17) as immensely as Salah, it’s natural to pin the success down to him. That is, he had a hand in more than half of the goals (47) Liverpool has scored (69) this season. Salah, unquestionably, has been Liverpool’s figurehead, his goal-scoring appetite discovered after signs of diminishing in the last season. The Egyptian has benefited from Slot’s tactic to expand the playing field, providing him the space and width to cut inwards and shoot with the devilish swing of his leg-boot. He has relished the industry of Luis Diaz as the false nine, as well as Cody Gakpo’s services from the left wing before he got injured. Marshalled by the reinvigorated Virgil van Dijk, Liverpool have been impregnable at the back. Only Arsenal have shipped in fewer goals than the 27 Liverpool have conceded. A renewed emphasis has been placed on tackling as well as winning duels (both ground and aerial). Goalkeeper Alisson has been a rock and has kept 9 clean sheets (in 21 games). Overall, they have kept 12 clean sheets (in 29 games) and leaked more than two goals only twice. Have Liverpool been lucky? There is a school of thought that they have been fortunate at times. They had fewer injuries to big players, had barely been on the punishing end of officiating howlers and by curious coincidence faced teams when they were at the lowest ebb, when they had star players injured or serving sanctions, and benefitted from marginal refereeing decisions. While some of them are not without truth (like the Gakpo penalty against Bournemouth), to attribute their success to fortune is a hollow thought. It’s just that they clung onto the slices of fortune that came along a ruthless season of domination. Can they do a double? The FA Cup exit means that a treble is beyond them. But a double is plausible. The league is almost a done deal—provided Arsenal win the remaining 10 games, Liverpool could afford to lose four of their last nine games and still lift the trophy. Barring a slip-up of epic scale, their destiny is sealed. In Champions League, a draw against PSG at Anfield would suffice to make quarterfinals, where they are likely to encounter Aston Villa. Should they reach the last four, awaiting them would be Arsenal or Real Madrid. Arsenal would not be as steep a hurdle as Real, but the latter (or any of the three teams) has not beaten Liverpool in the last three games.
