Arne Slot Goes Nuts
Liverpool's 4-2-2-2 experiment.
I like to think Arne Slot subscribes to this Substack. I mean, he probably doesn’t. Let’s be honest. But there’s nothing wrong with having a dream, right?
I also like to think we’ve got similar perspectives on how to maximise Florian Wirtz. You guys know my views on that subject by now. And based on how Slot deployed his players against Crystal Palace on the weekend, I think the Dutchman agrees with me.
The Liverpool boss showcased a clear desire to keep Wirtz away from the wide areas. That was cool. But he sacrificed common sense to make it happen, resulting in our first loss of the season. Not so cool.
What happened?
Alright, so this was a bad one. The first half at Selhurst Park consisted of Palace creating ten shots worth about 2.1 xG (!!) in total. Liverpool posted six shots worth 0.4 xG. Awful.
Indeed, Oliver Glasner’s men generated four big chances during that 45-minute period. For context, a big chance is defined by Opta as a situation where a player should reasonably be expected to score. They don’t come around very often.
The Reds got battered, with many of their issues stemming from the system that Slot adopted, moving towards a 4-2-2-2 shape with Milos Kerkez expected to cover the entire left flank on his own.
Supporters expected Wirtz to play on the left in place of Cody Gakpo, who was benched. But no, the German spent the large majority of his time inside the pitch like normal, swimming in his attempts to connect with his teammates.
It was an approach that — in my opinion — was pretty much tailored for Wirtz, with Slot clearly reluctant to use him like he’s Gakpo by instructing him to essentially stand on the touchline and wait for the ball.
If you’ve followed my content since the summer, you’ll know that just isn’t Wirtz. And I think Slot knows that too, hence Liverpool’s asymmetric 4-2-2-2 experiment.
But it simply didn’t work. You could throw a blanket over all of Slot’s players — except Kerkez — for most of the half, with Palace finding Liverpool easy to defend against before springing a countless number of dangerous attacks.
“We wanted to overload the midfield with Wirtz in the first half, that’s why we didn’t start with Cody,” said Slot in his post-match press conference. “But if you’re 1-0 down and you need a goal, you prefer to have width on both sides, and that’s why we brought Cody in.”
The first half was a bit of a red flag for me. Not because the performance was poor, no. That can happen. It was concerning because it was the first proper example we’ve seen of Slot coming up with something fresh to accommodate Wirtz.
If it was Federico Chiesa or Luis Díaz, I think Liverpool would’ve started as normal. Like the second half. But due to the difference in profile, Slot came up with a fresh blueprint.
Was the 4-2-2-2 for Palace, or Wirtz?
Liverpool were much better in the second half. Granted, they still lost the bout, but they did create plenty once Slot restored his go-to system, with Gakpo out wide and Wirtz as a number ten.
I don’t think the Reds boss will make the same mistake again any time soon, but that decision to go nuts with the tactics board before Palace does need to be highlighted, because it was indicative of a few issues right now.
There’s an element of too many cooks at present. A lack of balance. The desire to get every galactico on the pitch at once, resulting in one or two players occupying unfamiliar spots.
When Liverpool first got linked to Wirtz and Alexander Isak, the big question among supporters was how on earth Slot would field all of his stars in the same team, with many expecting Dominik Szoboszlai to miss out.
Who starts, and who gets benched? Well, we all kinda downplayed those initial concerns because of the physical demands of a 60-game season playing for a heavyweight outfit like Liverpool. You need a deep squad to compete.
That remains the case, but right now, Giovanni Leoni is the only player from the whole group on the treatment table. Everybody else is available for selection, with Slot having to keep his boys sharp and happy.
He wants Szoboszlai involved at all times. Ryan Gravenberch is a given. Alexis Mac Allister is out of form but key when he’s firing. And Wirtz cost £100m in the summer just gone.
All of those guys want the middle, just like Isak — who is starting to regain his fitness — and Hugo Ekitike, who doesn’t deserve to sit on the bench based on his showings so far.
It’s a curious one for Slot to think about. A narrow squad of stars. It makes you realise the importance of Gakpo and Rio Ngumoha. And perhaps Jeremie Frimpong on the opposide side, too.
We don’t need to lose our heads. The first 45 was abysmal, but the second was pretty good. Underrated good. Liverpool posted 14 shots worth about 1.8 xG in a tricky contest away from home, with a few individuals miles off it.
Moving forward, let’s keep things simple. Play with wingers. Keep playing Wirtz as a ten. He hasn’t been great, but the last thing we need is a galaxy brain approach to accommodating him.
Less is more.
Good article. But the box midfield only really explains our issues on the ball. All palace's chances originated down on our right where we had Bradley, salah and szobo/konate
The 1v1 Defending was so bad from Bradley and konate and we would have been able to make it to HT with a sterile 0-0 if those 2 had defended to the required level.
Brilliant, Josh. Didn’t help that Konate had one of those games, and Macca was a passenger. Mo wasn’t in the game, Wirtz and him on the same side is yet to work. I would have had Chiesa on the left from the start. Second half was much better, more control, better attacking. A shout out for Ali. Without him, this article would have been very different…