Liverpool manager Arne Slot: Why I KNEW Ryan Gravenberch would excel at No.6

Arne Slot’s first 10 Liverpool games in all competitions have brought nine victories, which is the best start of any Reds boss ever. 

After beating Crystal Palace at the weekend 1-0, Slot's side sit top of the tree heading into the international break, too. The Dutch head coach is grateful for the start he's had, too, which he hopes will inspire his team to more achievements. 

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Slot: "My start at Liverpool is special if you know how many great managers the club have had"

“It definitely is very satisfying,” Slot said after the victory against Palace. “And it’s actually also quite special if you know how many great managers Liverpool have had.

“But I also said last week I think, that I hope they don’t only remember me in one, two, three, four, five years only for this. We are hoping to do more special things than this. And it also says the luck I had that I inherited a very good squad and very good staff to continue getting the results that Jurgen [Klopp] had here as well.”

One of the foundations of the many wins is the strength of the defence. So far, Liverpool has only conceded four goals in ten matches. After the win at Selhurst Park, Slot explained how their style of play is one of the things that plays a part in it. 

“I think you saw [against Palace] how much we controlled the first 60 minutes,” he said. “Then we had, for 15 to 20 minutes, a difficult spell. And then in the last 10 minutes, we took control again.”

“We took control by having a very good build-up and that helps to also tire the opponents because they have to defend a lot, they have to run a lot to make it difficult for us. And then the work-rate our attackers and midfielders put in is also extraordinary, and that combination with a few other things – because it’s also the quality of the centre-backs and the goalkeeper – leads to so many clean sheets.”

That goalkeeper, Alisson – ranked as the best in the world recently by FourFourTwo – sustained an injury in the game against Palace, though, and it has to be seen when he will be back in action. That might present a challenge to Slot, but so far he has handled things very well at Anfield, with his tactics spot on. 

Apart from Arne Slot, other Dutch players and coaches at Liverpool are making an impact as well. Sipke Hulshoff and John Heitinga are part of the backroom staff, while Virgil van Dijk, Cody Gakpo and Ryan Gravenberch have all been playing really well recently with the trio all starting against Palace. 

Gravenberch has been a revelation in his new number 6 role so far. Slot explained why he thought the Dutch midfielder could do well in that role when they started to work together. 

“He has certain characteristics to play in that position, and one of them is that he is really comfortable with the ball,” Slot said. “Every time you play [the ball to] him, he knows what to do with it so he is really good in his one-, two-touch passes. But he is also very comfortable in turning away from his man so we can create an overload. He is tall, he can run [and is] strong in the duels.”

 Where the first 10 games have gone really well for Liverpool, the next set of games after the international break will be a good test, with fixtures coming up against Chelsea, Arsenal, Aston Villa and Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League.