What We Learned From Slotball As Liverpool Beat Brentford 2-0!

two games six points collected four goals scored and two clean sheets kept life under AR slot couldn't have started in a better way but most importantly it's the changes in the system that are starting to take Liverpool to a whole new level of control see brenford are one of the trickiest sides to face in the Premier League they can keep possession hit you on the counter and play in a low block to deny you access to dangerous areas but after the second half against ipswitch and with the Reds leading the charge in their first anill game of the season Spirits were high going into the game so in case you missed out on the match or if you want to learn exactly how AR slot and his men managed to get the three points hit that like And subscribe button and let us jump straight into our game analysis never change a Winning Side that's the philosophy of multiple managers who maintain their starting 11 after a win well it appears that AR slaugh also appreciates this way of thinking as the Reds saw one change in their lineup and by the way that change was Jerel kwansa who left the field after 45 minutes against ipswitch with the score line being nil nil so that saying still stands correct Allison stood tall between the posts as expected with both canate and Virgil Van djk forming the center back partnership on both sides of the pitch both Andy robertsson and Trent Alexander Arnold maintained their positions as fullbacks Ryan grenberg who had an impressive second half in our Premier League opener also stayed as the number six which raises the question is the Dutchman a temporary answer to the club's need for a defensive midfielder or is he there to stay until the end of the season higher up the pitch both Alexis mallister and Dominic sabosa functioned as the double eight with the two players interchanging positions to form the usual double pivot however it should be highlighted that sosli was often the highest of the eights occupying more Central areas to play in the number 10 position the front line came with no surprises with Muhammad Salah LS Diaz and Diego leading the line This highlights slot's need for technical abilities between the lines in the final third which explains why the Portuguese is starting his second consecutive game in the number nine position now going into the match it's safe to say that it was a game of two halves yes just like the ipswitch game but hold on a minute we're not saying that Liverpool were all over the place with the opposition having the best chances absolutely not it was a matter of how Liverpool approached the game shifting to different gears over the course of the two halves so let us dive deeper to understand what exactly happened this video is sponsored by surf shark in today's age staying safe online is more challenging than ever hackers are constantly lurking ready to exploit your personal information but there is a solution surf shark with surf shark you can change up your IP address addess making it nearly 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even when the team got the ball back to Allison to use him as a plus one in possession and try to bait the Press during the Deep buildup phase both maer and sosli stayed in close proximity to grenberg now one might wonder why did slot use this approach well we all remember how Graven Burg struggled during the first half against ipswitch where the distances between him and both mallister and sabosa were far which resulted in the Red's failure to progress the ball through the phases during this game however slot tried to omit the issues but that's not all in bringing more men deep and alongside graur the Reds were able to always create a plus one situation despite brenford man-marking pressing and with having equal or more men in deeper areas slots men were able to circulate possession and keep the ball around which was the theme of the first half see the Reds kept 56 % of bull possession and completed 230 passes 72 more than brenford however the game's Tempo was extremely slow which limited Liverpool getting the ball into dangerous areas at the correct time this was also the reason why we didn't create many chances averaging just 0.70 XG 0.51 were created from Lis Diaz's shot for the first goal in fact speaking of this opening goal it didn't even come from a settled play and instead it was a far break to counter a brenford corner taking advantage of the spaces left in behind and of course if you have players like Salah jot and Diaz you can create dangerous situations on transitions the first half and the goal are fullprof of how the Reds have become a more balanced team compared to previous Seasons yes the tempo was extremely slow which made the game feel a bit boring but it's also the reason why the Reds have not conceded the first big chance of the game something we suffered a lot from from last season by taking our time during the buildup circulating the ball around and waiting for the right window to launch a forward pass we minimize the threat that can be created when the opposition side regains position which was the case during this game as brenford failed to create any significant opportunities however this didn't mean that we didn't manage to play through the phases at all for example here you can see us building up in a 316 shape a very dangerous one if the opposition side manages to regain possession however grenberg here showcased his ability to play with his back to goal acting as the link between the Midfield and the attack in this sequence van djk disguised his pass and played a risky ball to his countryman who was surrounded by three brenford players grab received the ball and then quickly Twisted in turn to evade the pressure before completely changing direction to take the bull from Central Area to the right hand side this sequence resulted in that Salah wide shot the first half and so the Reds were able to enter the final third through the buildup phase but as we said this was one of the not many sequences during the half as the Reds took their time during possession however this slower Tempo and much more controlled buildup phase wasn't the only change in fact Liverpool did not only change their approach with the ball it was also how the team acted out of possession see the Red's pressing structure was kind of different to what we usually know here you can see us dropped to a 4141 mid block blocking the central channels and forcing brenford out wide it's a bit of an unusual process isn't it well it didn't end there during the high press when brenford were trying to build from goal kicks Liverpool shaped up in a 4-24 structure with mallister and gravur making the jumps into Central areas when the bees bypassed the initial line of press but what's interesting here is that the Reds were happy to let brenford pass the ball around not putting in Relentless and intense press like we usually do instead and just like the buildup phase Liverpool players were also patient during pressing not giving brenford enough space to progress the ball and Target the likes of wiissa and inmu who can pose threat in transitional situations we were more than happy letting the bees pass the ball around trying to create instances of numerical superiority which they failed to do on their own due to the Red's committed pressing line this worked exactly how slot wanted with brenford going more direct from goal kicks after half an hour of playing and the majority of these long balls were intercepted by the likes of van djk and canate now remember how we said that this was a game of two halves well in the second period we saw the complete opposite of what we just discussed quicker Tempo more possession more passes and most importantly more final third entries even the numbers back this up Liverpool made 43 final third entries compared to the 21 of the first half and made 100 more passes the accumulated XG also skyrocketed to 1.95 in the second 45 minutes alone now if you need the biggest proof to how the tempo changed look no further than our second goal the whole sequence started with Trent driving the ball from the right hand side and taking on his opponent he then went on to play a direct pass towards mosala that was intercepted at first but this time slots theous counter press was there for everyone to see with Trent sabosa and jot putting pressure on brenford players who were initiating another buildup phase and just like that the ball reached leis Diaz who set up our Egyptian king in a one-on-one situation with the keeper giving us a much comfortable and deserved lead from that moment on the Reds took full control of the game threatening the goal on multiple occasions all while dominating bull possession see guys we saw it during preseason and now we're witnessing our first two Premier League games Liverpool are no longer stuck with one style of play and instead we can keep the ball around to borrow our opponents to death and deny them any chances to hurt us in transitions we can also be more direct and use our deadly Trio encounters to cause havoc and now we also saw how we can be conservative in our pressing forcing our opponents to go long and commit unforced errors during the buildup this significant change in style can only be a sign of the work of AR slot his staff and the players are putting on in the training ground and this can only be a positive sign for the future so what do you think about our performance against brenford do you like how adaptable the Reds have become let us know your thoughts in the comment section below and if you enjoyed our analysis why not hit that like button and subscribe to the channel for more Liverpool content also do check out today's video sponsor surf shark and get four months three the link is down in the description and use code panenka at checkout thank you guys I'll see you next time take care peace