Looking at Liverpool under Arne Slot 🔎
Arne Slot’s first season at Liverpool has been marked by a blend of tactical tweaks and subtle player evolution from Jurgen Klopp’s “Heavy Metal” brand of football. We dive into the data and pinpoint three players who have made an impact.
Ryan Gravenberch
Ball Carry Grade: 90.2
Aerial Duel Grade: 78.8
50/50 Duel Grade: 84.0
Line-Breaking Passes Received: 116
Ryan Gravenberch had a slow start to life at Liverpool in his first season under Jurgen Klopp, finding it hard to embrace the “Heavy Metal” brand of football Klopp demanded of his players. In 15 games under Arne Slot, Gravenberch has found his form and reminded people why Bayern Munich bought him at the age of 20.
One reason why Gravenberch has rediscovered his form could be down to the change in physical demands under Slot. Liverpool rank 20th in total distance covered per 90 this season (compared to 9th in 2023/24) and 13th in high-speed runs per 90 (compared to 3rd in 2023/24). Slowing the game down has seemingly brought the best out of Gravenberch, looking at his physical metrics he ranks in the bottom 20th percentile for Total Distance, Deceleration’s and bottom 40th percentile for Acceleration’s across Europe’s ‘big five’ leagues. This really speaks to the change in style under Arne Slot, as Liverpool have much more structure in transition and are more pragmatic with the ball.
Gravenberch’s standout trait this season has been his ability to kickstart transitions. His 90.2 ball carry grade (a summation of Dribbling, Carrying and Tackle Resistance), is 1st among all players in the Premier League. Mateo Kovacic, James Maddison, Callum Hudson-Odoi, and Matheus Cunha round out the top 5 to give an idea of others player who excel in this grade.
Gravenberch has also shown his prowess as a ball winning CM this year with an impressive 78.8 Aerial Duel Grade (25th overall and 4th of 93 CM’s) and a 50/50 Duel grade of 84.0 (6th overall and 1st among CM’s). He has won 27 50/50 duels, tied for most amongst all players. Lastly, to show his evolution into a true pivot player, Gravenberch has received 116-line breaking passes, (5th overall and 2 among CM’s), showing how vital he has been to starting the Red’s attack this year.
Alexis Mac Allister
Crossing Grade: 72.8
Passing Grade: 87.4
Shooting grade: 75.9
Line-Breaking Passes Completed: 64 (37th overall and 11th among CM’s)
Alexis Mac Allister has had a very strong start to the 24-25 campaign, continuing his form from his first season at Liverpool. A talking point surrounding his game is that he still has no goal or assists in the Premier League this season. So, with no goals or assists, how good has Mac Allister been?
Mac Allister is one of two CM’s this year to have a grade of 70+ in crossing, passing and shooting (Romeo Lavia is the other). Out of 11 players to generate 5 or more 2nd and 3rd assists, Mac Allister is 1 of 2 players to not have a true assist this year (Josko Gvardiol is the other).
To go along with stats, Alexis has received a Crossing grade of 72.8 (51st overall and 10th among CM’s), a Passing grade of 87.4 (9th overall and 3rd among CM's) and a Shooting grade of 75.9 (45th overall and 3rd among CM’s). To use goals and assists to judge a player’s complete impact on a game may not tell the whole story, especially a player like Alexis Mac Allister, who has seemingly dropped deeper into a double pivot this year.
Mohamed Salah
Crossing Grade: 86.9
Shooting Grade: 84.7
Dribbling Grade: 79.3
The Egyptian king is still at the top of his game, accumulating 13 goals and 9 assists in the Premier league and playing like one of the best, if not the best, player in the world right now. One of the main reasons behind this could be how he’s looked after in Liverpool’s defensive shape, limiting his output and keeping him fresh for the grueling schedule ahead.
It seems that in Arne Slot’s defensive system, Salah is asked to cover far less ground than his counterpart, Luis Díaz in this case. But when Salah is active in their block or press shape, he ranks in the 80th percentile in both Sprint Percentage and Sprinting Distance. So, he is covering less ground than his opposite winger but still working hard to defend when asked too. It’s a physical profile similar to that of Lionel Messi, preserving energy in total distance and high speed running, but still having elite speed when it counts.
Salah has been on a tear to start the 24-25 season, receiving a Crossing grade of 86.9 (8th among all and 4 among Wingers/Attacking Mid’s), Shooting grade of 84.7 (11th overall and 5th among Wingers/Attacking Mid’s), and a Dribbling grade of 79.3 (37th overall and 19th among Wingers/Attacking Mid’s). Salah’s ability as a creator has been on display this year. He has completed 32% of his crosses, good for 3rd among players who have attempted 15 crosses, and he has created 28 chances, good for 17th among all Premier League players.
This article was crafted using PFF FC's Physical Metrics platform, Epitome, and PFF FC Player grades. If you're affiliated with a club and would like to explore its capabilities, feel free to contact us at sales-fc@pff.com to arrange a demo.