Old is New Again
A rough season’s opener.
No, not for Liverpool; the boys in red went to Portman Road, a new destination on the schedule this season, and will be traveling back home satisfied. Arne Slot, playing the same team Klopp left him, but with a new approach, did something Bob Paisley did last and led Liverpool to victory in his first match as manager. Of course, getting the newly promoted Tractor Boys (what a great nickname) for the opener helped, but this is still the premier league and as the saying goes, sometimes one rather be lucky than good.
Plus based on today’s evidence, Ipswich will give other guests plenty of trouble.
The rough opener was on my end, as I had to get up at four in the morning to watch this one. The first half didn’t help. I found myself missing Klopp’s heavy metal while appreciating that this Liverpool is a bit more likely to get clean sheets, as it did today. Having less injuries will be helpful, too. Still, as much as I wanted to go back to bed following a controlled, yawn-inducing 45 minutes, it was really important to see what would happen in the second half. How would Slot adjust? Heck, would he adjust?
He sure did.
Liverpool spent the first 20 minutes of the second half tearing through their opponents, and could have easily doubled their lead. Which was neat, but even neater was that it looked purposeful and controlled, rather than all-out. The tweaks were right, measured, and efficient, and the outcome seemed obvious. Nobody got hurt, the clean sheet never looked in danger, and Virgil could pretend to be imperious, even though he wasn’t.
It’s less exciting, but perhaps a year off the heart medications might be good for the system.
Some things never change, though. For example, the unflappable Salah scored and assisted. Sure, the man is a bit slower, and not as much of a threat with the long balls, but if anything, he seems an even bigger threat operating with what looks like more of a creator focus. He also seemed happy, and a happy Mo is a lethal Mo, and as per usual with him, broke another premier league record today (most opening matches scoring). He’s my man-of-the-match, which is kind of boring, and therefore, in a way, a perfect fit for today’s game.
Is there much else to report? Diaz dribbled around everyone only to pass nowhere, as per usual with him. Can someone give him passing lessons, please? Trent did Trent things, including a peach of a pass to Mo for the first goal, and a couple of times where he completely lost the plot on a lofted through ball in defense. Robbo is going to have trouble shining in this system, but maybe he can adjust. Macca and Gravenberch, even in a double pivot, looked lost and are not a solution to the missing number six. And if there was any fun to be had, it was in pressing way, way up all the time. It worked against Ipswich.
Will it work against, say, Man City?
My gut says no, but it’s way to early to tell. Let’s hope the back room is still cooking up a deal or two. Or we can choose to play without a midfield.
4-0-2-4, anyone?
