How Liverpool mixed best of Klopp & Slot to beat Man City

Liverpool brought the chaos then the control. The perfect mix and match of Jurgen Klopp’s heavy metal football then the calmer symphonies of his successor Arne Slot.

It was Manchester City, the great domestic power of the modern era, who found themselves trapped in this perfect storm, surely tossed and blown out of contention for a fifth successive Premier League title.

The trademark of Slot’s Liverpool has been a more measured, composed strategy when set against the wilder elements of Klopp’s emotion-charged approach. This was an unstoppable combination of the two that Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City simply could not handle.

Liverpool’s 2-0 victory margin did City a kindness, the result leaving them 11 points adrift of their conquerors, who have a nine-point advantage over Arsenal in second place.

December may have only just been ushered in. The Premier League season may only be 13 games old. Even so, it seems impossible to imagine anyone overhauling Liverpool in this mood.

Guardiola and City have suffered in their run of seven games without a win and four straight league defeats, but they have rarely been as buffeted as they were in an opening salvo from Liverpool that had an almost savage beauty.

Liverpool tore into City, sensing blood in their reduced rivals. Goalkeeper Stefan Ortega, in for the dropped Ederson, had already been in action several times and Virgil van Dijk had headed against the post before Cody Gakpo bundled home Mohamed Salah’s perfect pass at the far post.

This was after only 12 minutes.

It is no slight on Slot to flag up the first 25 minutes as reviving memories of Klopp’s era at its best - in fact it is a compliment – while the next 65 minutes showed how the Dutchman has brought more tactical control and composure to the multi-talented squad inherited from his predecessor.

When Liverpool streaked away to their only Premier League title in 2019-20, they had 37 points from 12 wins and a draw at this same stage, leading Leicester City by eight points and Manchester City by nine.

The season turned into a procession, ending behind closed doors, and it already looks like it will take something very special from the chasing pack to change that narrative in this campaign.

Liverpool’s nine-point lead is their biggest margin at the top since the final day of that triumphant campaign, when they won the title by 18 points.

This Liverpool performance carried a more direct and frantic air, a tendency to ease themselves into games replaced by a full-on barrage then left City reeling, defensive pair Kyle Walker and Ruben Dias engaged in animated discussion early on as to how they could stem the charge.

They never really found the answer, Dias robbed by Liverpool substitute Darwin Nunez, leaving Luis Diaz to race clear before he was brought down by Ortega. Salah completed the formalities 12 minutes from time.

The numbers certainly suggested Liverpool went for the more direct, pressurised approach, with 14.8% of their passes going long, compared to their season average of 9.1% before this game.

This was certainly a slight departure, a cocktail of old Klopp and new Slot.

Liverpool’s successful transition from Klopp to Slot carried a qualification early on. Namely, that it was all well and good, but who of consequence had they played?

The answer has been delivered most emphatically at Anfield in the space of five days as first Champions League holders Real Madrid then reigning Premier League champions Manchester City were over-powered, identical 2-0 scorelines no reflection of Liverpool’s vast superiority.