Arne Slot’s proper debut as Liverpool manager could scarcely have gone much better.
Three points and a clean sheet are two very good ways to get people on board.
The Reds’ performance in the 2-0 win over Ipswich Town at Portman Road was far from flawless.
But after a slow first half, Liverpool created six Opta-defined big chances after the break.
To put that into context, they last had so many golden opportunities in one half of football in April 2022.
Against a newly promoted side or not – the previous instance was against Benfica in the Champions League, after all
The match turned in part on a half time substitution, with Slot replacing Jarell Quansah with Ibrahima Konate.
Mark Lawrenson has shared some insight gained from the first team and it sounds like we can expect the Reds’ new head coach to ruffle a few more feathers
Lawrenson
“I mean, the rumor and the talk from the dressing room is that he’s very good,”
“He very much talks to everybody about everything.
“He’s a nice fella, but they reckon he has something about him where he won’t be frightened to make major decisions.
Slot is going to need to be firm in his thinking if he is to be a success at Liverpool
the Dutchman would not have reached the heights he has in his coaching career without making a difficult decision or two
even before hauling off Quansah at half time in the season opener, Slot had made some bold decisions at Liverpool.
Fabio Carvalho impressed in pre-season, scoring against both Arsenal and Manchester United, but was allowed to leave for Brentford
while Joe Gomez was excluded from the match day squad on Saturday with his exit potentially on the cards.
Only two midfielders played more minutes than Wataru Endo last season, yet he appears out of the picture too, at least for the time being.
Slot has proved Lawrenson’s point and will likely only continue to do so in the weeks and months ahead.
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