Liverpool’s improved defensive work under Arne Slot

A look at how different it’s been since he joined the Reds.

Transcript

00:00Yeah, one thing obviously Arnie Schlott's really showed up is the defence, just quickly on them and that fantastic defensive record.

00:09Can that sort of be the difference when it comes down to it in terms of winning the title?

00:14Yeah, it's a little bit more pragmatic, isn't it? Liverpool, I think it's not just as a defence, I think it's the way Liverpool play.

00:21It's a bit more measures, a bit more controls. You know, Jadon Klopp, he likes his team to be a little bit,

00:28maybe a little bit fiddled, you know, it's a little bit chaotic, but it's different with Arnie Schlott.

00:33I think that's having an effect on the defence, but all the defences have been in great form.

00:37I mean, Trent Alexander-Arnold's improvements have been fantastic.

00:42He's, you know, some of the wingers he's marked in recent weeks, I'd like to tell him about Brighton, Pedro Neto and Jadon Sancho.

00:53His stats have proven really good. He's even improved Costa Simacas, who was second choice for a lot of his Liverpool career,

01:00but he's really come on leaps and bounds. And a lot of fans maybe say he'd be first choice.

01:06He's ahead of Andy Robertson now and he's managed to keep Hiroshima Kanate fit, which has been a big problem during his Liverpool career.

01:14I don't think anyone's ever questioned Kanate's quality.

01:19But keeping him fit has been the biggest struggle. He's had a lot of niggles and Virgil van Dijk say he's just looking his absolute best.

01:28He's shown no signs of let-up. You know, he's, what, 33 now and again, comes back to his contract talk, will Liverpool get a deal done there?

01:37You would like to think that, again, where else would Virgil van Dijk go if he doesn't want to go to Liverpool?

01:43You know, he's still playing at the peak of his career, so why wouldn't he want to stay at Liverpool?

01:48But, yeah, the defence and then St Ryan Gavin Burke in the number six has been excellent.

01:53But, yeah, I just think it's maybe not just been defence as a whole.

01:56There have been some changes that have been made. I think Ayrton Slott's worked on certainly Trent Alexander-Arnold's shape when he's defending.

02:04But just the way Liverpool approach games has set things down a little bit and not made it as frenetic at times.

02:12And that's definitely having a positive effect on the back four.