Could Arne Slot surpass Jürgen Klopp? Arne Slot is Liverpool’s new manager this year and Replacing Klopp were massive shoes to fill. Klopp had won eight trophies in his nine year tenure at the club. Ending the 30 year Premier League drought with the club when they won in the 2019-20 season. Klopp was also a fan favorite among the fans, this brought even more pressure for the newcomer, Arne Slot. . So far Slot has done a great job as the new manager, having won his first three games in the premier league and is currently sitting two points clear in 1st place. Also having won eight games, tieing once and losing once. Slot also has won four out of four games so far in the Champions League. Both of those stats are better than Klopp’s start to his first season, Klopp didn’t get his first win in the Premier League until his third game, tying the first two. Klopp only was victorious twice out of his first four games n the Champions League
Slot has also unlocked players that were not playing too well under Klopp. One example is midfielder Ryan Gravenberch. Gravenberch last season in the Premier League started 12 games and was subbed on in only 14 other games that he didn’t start in. That adds up to him playing only 26 out of 38 games played in the total campaign. This season so far under Slot, Gravenberch has started all 10 games so far in the Premier League, and has been a key player in Slot’s starting 11, having won player of the match in a Champions League match.
Another example of a player that is thriving under Slot is Luis Diaz. Last season he was given a lot of time playing, starting in 32 games and being subbed on in five others that he didn’t start in, which is a good amount of playing time that Klopp gave him. Though playing a lot he didn’t really thrive in Klopp’s offense. Diaz only scored eight goals in all 37 matches played in and only tallying five assists. There’s no doubt, scoring any goals in the Premier League is impressive, but a talent like Luis Diaz is expected to be scoring much more than eight goals in 37 games. This season Luis Diaz has started seven games and subbed on tree other times out of only 10 games played so far in the season. In those 10 games he has scored five goals, and assisted two others. This is a much better start to the season than he had last year. Sometimes certain coaches’ styles of play work better with some players and not so good with others. It seems so far that everyone on Liverpool is benefiting from the new style of play. This season Liverpool have scored 19 goals in the Premier League having played only 10 games. It’s not just all offense benefiting, the defense is playing outstanding, having only conceded six goals and kept a clean sheet in five of their games.
This season has shown Liverpool under Slot is unstoppable so far being 1st on not only the Premier League table but also on the Champions League table. That is a very impressive feat, considering the previous Champions League winners, Real Madrid are currently sitting at 18th place. Liverpool has kept on winning under Slot even though other teams that are known for winning aren’t. Another reason why Liverpool might be playing better under Slott than they did with Klopp is, “It seems Arne Slot’s Liverpool are a little more flexible. They’ve been calm and composed but can play like Klopp’s side.”
According to the New York Times. Liverpool is playing in a mixture of both Klopp and Slott. Liverpool are playing better under Slot because Klopp was able to make an amazing style of play and all Slot had to do was perfect it.
Though Slot is doing amazing in his first season with Liverpool, people still believe that he won’t surpass Klopp. When Freshman Walker Gregorio was asked if he thought Slot was going to surpass Klopp, he responded with, “You can’t beat the OG.” So even though Slot has had a better start to his first season than Klopp in his first season, fans still remember what Klopp did for the club and it is almost impossible to beat that.
Currently Liverpool is in a great position to win both the Champions League and the Premier League which Klopp couldn’t come close to in his first season with the club. Slot is on pace to eventually surpass Klopp, but ultimately it will be decided on how much the fans love him because almost no one is winning over the Liverpool fans as much as Klopp did. It will all be decided on whether he can win trophies or come in second.
