It’s all interactive!
Introduction
The Arne Slot era has officially started with a 2-0 win against newly promoted Ipswich Town team that proved to be a challenge in the first-half.
With goals from Diogo Jota and Mohammed Salah, “Slot’s ball” proved to be efficient in a more dynamic second half that saw 15 shots compared to a shy 3 shots in the first half, a lot of direct passes and high quality chances.
A disappointing first-half but an energized second-half
During the first 45 minutes marked by an impressive press from the home team, Liverpool players seemed out of shape, lacked tempo and sharpness with a staggering 13 fouls, a low 36% of ground duels won and an xG of 0.11 which is their second lowest in the first-half of a Premier League game since the start of the 2022/23 season1 with the front three not having a single shot.
1 Source : Squawka Live
But, after what appeared to be an effective team talk, Liverpool looked much more fluid with their passes and movements and even increased their won duels to 48%, a focus point by Slot who mentioned on TNT Sports that “we don’t have to talk about tactics if you lose so many duels”.
As we see in the table, Liverpool lost most of their ground duels during the first-half due to the high press of Ipswich that pushed them to abandon their building from the back style after only winning 14 duels compared to 25.
However, stats during the last 45 minutes reflected Slot’s side regaining control and dominating the game.
Duels Stats |
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Matchday 1 - Ipswich vs Liverpool |
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| Stat Name | Home | Away |
|---|---|---|
| First Half | ||
| Duels won | 31 | 22 |
| Ground duels won | 25 (64%) | 14 (36%) |
| Aerial duels won | 6 (43%) | 8 (57%) |
| Successful dribbles | 1 (50%) | 2 (25%) |
| Second Half | ||
| Duels won | 20 | 24 |
| Ground duels won | 15 (52%) | 14 (48%) |
| Aerial duels won | 5 (33%) | 10 (67%) |
| Successful dribbles | 2 (33%) | 9 (64%) |
Source: FotMob |
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Gravenberch as a n6
Granvenberch Stats |
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Matchday 1 - Ipswich vs Liverpool |
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| Attack | FotMob rating | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Touches | Touches in opposition box | Successful dribbles | Passes into final third | Accurate long balls | Dispossessed | Accurate passes | |
| 71 | 0 | 1/2 | 9 | 2/2 | 0 | 51/59 | 7.17 |
| Duels | Defense | Defensive actions | Recoveries | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Duels won | Duels lost | Ground duels won | Aerial duels won | Was fouled | Fouls committed | Tackles won | Clearances | Interceptions | ||
| 6 | 6 | 5/11 | 1/1 | 1 | 5 | 1/3 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 2 |
Source: FotMob |
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The Dutchman looked promising during both halves as he was press-resistant, calm and progressed with the ball with no issue favoring attacking actions instead of the passive sideways/backwards passes which put the midfield under huge criticism during the Klopp era. A progressive play supported by an impressive 9 passes into the final third which was the most made by a player alongside Trent.
He also managed to stay involved with tackles and duels despite Ipswich dominating them for the first-half, the stats further indicates his involvement in defensive actions, duels and attacks where he had 8 defensive actions, the fourth most touches with 71 and second most ground duels attempted with 11.
I can’t stop watching this Gravenberch performance he might be the No.6 Liverpool needs not want. pic.twitter.com/drAZoVnlXM
— 22🥇 (@Arneslot_Era) August 20, 2024
A dynamic and healthy front three
| Player | Total shots | Shot accuracy | Chances created | Big chances missed | Touches | Touches in opposition box | Successful dribbles | Dispossessed | xG + xA | FotMob rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mohamed Salah1 | 4 | 3/3 | 2 | 1 | 46 | 112 | 0/2 | 1 | 0.85 | 8.45 |
| Diogo Jota | 3 | 1/3 | 0 | 1 | 32 | 112 | 1/2 | 4 | 0.99 | 7.52 |
| Luis Díaz | 3 | 0/2 | 3 | 1 | 53 | 112 | 5/5 | 4 | 0.84 | 7.63 |
Source: FotMob |
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| 1 Man Of The Match | ||||||||||
| 2 The most among all players | ||||||||||
Liverpool’s attack showed a promising understanding of the game with fluidity, with Jota being the best player in the first-half holding defenders and trying his best and the three of them later on combining for some threatening and eye-pleasing chances that resulted in 5/5 successful dribbles from Diaz who excelled in his 1v1 game but failing to convert chances especially at the 54th minute, 0.99 xG from Jota who had some really good chances and had a fabulous positional awareness and finally Salah, the man of the match, once again delivering an assist and a goal beating his xG + xA and reaching 300 contributions in 350 matches for Liverpool!
The shots map showcases the big number of touches inside the opposition side equal to 50 touches that were mainly during the second-half compared to only 7 during the first one, although it only resulted in 5/18 shots on target indicating the missed chanced of Liverpool trying to break Ipswich’s defence. (6 big chances were wasted in the process!)
Slot calmness and realism helped the team
Arne remained collected and focused on encouraging his team despite errors which inspired the team to continue pushing. What was surprising though was the half-time substitution of Quansah, a decision deemed courageous by Liverpool fans.
So far, things are going smoothly despite the lack of transfers which could be a problem if injuries occur replicating the past season scenario.
What’s next for Liverpool?
After a good start in the Premier League, the Reds face at home Brentford who won against Crystal Palace 2-1 on Sunday, August 25.
