Slot has set the tone for the end of Liverpool's season
The Dutchman's choice of formation and approach against Galatasaray suggests he may have found a way home in a forgettable campaign.
Clearly, it would be a gross oversimplification to suggest that Liverpool’s 4-0 win over Galatasaray provided a blueprint for the remainder of the season.
It goes without saying that if managers could guarantee four goals scored, five expected goals generated, and 32 shots with 16 on target every game, then they would do so.
Unfortunately, replicating those numbers against less generous opposition is going to be impossible.
However, that doesn’t mean there aren’t aspects of the Reds’ performance that they can take forward in order to ensure this season ends in a manner that is not in keeping with this slog of a season.
The first of those is workrate, a marked improvement in which was heartily welcomed by the Anfield crowd on Wednesday evening.
Arne Slot’s press conference claims that outrunning the opposition is difficult when you dominate the ball were never going to wash with supporters who had seen that happen so regularly under Jurgen Klopp.
The Dutchman himself seemed to contradict them anyway in one pre-match TV interview that hinted at what was to come, saying: “Winning more duels and running more than other team does. All these things help probably more than team tactics.”
The end result was the Reds boasting 62% of the ball yet still running 117km to Galatasaray’s 114 - an approach that got the fans onside even before the goals started going in.
And while nobody wants Slot to turn into a Klopp tribute act, it was notable that his unusually animated touchline performance set the tone.
The head coach’s personal tendency may be towards calm control, but it would be a waste of Anfield’s superpower not to embrace the chaos from time to time, particularly given he is at a point where regaining fan buy-in will be crucial to saving his job.
Slot would also surely be best served by sticking with the 4-4-2 formation seen against Galatasaray that has long seemed like the best use of the options at his disposal.
It is almost amusing to reel off the lengthy list of ways in which that is true, but all of them were evident during Wednesday’s game.
