Football writer Ben Bloom looks at the groundwork head coach Arne Slot put in to transform Liverpool and lead them to their second Premier League title.
It was at a sun-soaked Anfield last May, after his final match in charge of the club he had formed an unbreakable bond with over the previous nine seasons, that Jurgen Klopp took the microphone and directly addressed Liverpool fans.
Dressed head to toe in a club tracksuit, hoodie and cap, he thanked supporters for their love, stoutly declared Liverpool the "superpower of world football" and then, after leading them in a chorus of "Arne Slot, la la la la la", made a plea.
"Next season, you welcome the new manager like you welcomed me," said the German. "You go all-in from the first day. You keep believing and you push the team."
The departure of a man who had guided Liverpool to their first Premier League title, as well as a UEFA Champions League, FA Cup and two EFL Cup triumphs, was never expected to be easy.
These things rarely are. At best, they are marked by rocky undulations; at worst, they culminate in catastrophic failure.
That it would end in a 20th English top-flight title – matching Manchester United’s all-time record – won in such a comprehensive manner, with four games remaining, was almost unthinkable, even by the most ardent Liverpool fan.
Slot’s debut season in charge has made a mockery of widespread predictions that it would naturally take time to move from one entrenched era to another.
But at least one person was proved correct. "Change is good," Klopp had insisted on the Anfield pitch that final day. Almost a year on, no one is doubting that.
And it all came full circle on Sunday as Slot returned the compliment to his predecessor, belting out Liverpool fans' song about Klopp in the post-match celebrations after the title was confirmed.
‘Not so different’
As Klopp chanted his successor’s name at his Anfield farewell, Slot had not even been formally confirmed in the role. That would come the following day, with Liverpool waiting until the conclusion of the 2023/24 Premier League season before announcing the man to guide the club going forward.
Even then, it would be almost another month before Slot chose to speak publicly.
It was a concerted decision, like so many he has made this season, that spoke to the Dutchman’s understated nature, eager to provide as smooth and respectful a transition as possible.
"I think it was fair to him [Klopp], and to the club and to the supporters to wait a bit, and then to come in," said Slot, in his first public interview, conducted with Liverpool's official website.
Slot ensured he praised his predecessor at numerous points, describing the "tremendous job" Klopp had done at Anfield and revealing that he had spoken to the German to glean his insights on the club he had inherited.
Asked about his aims, Slot shied away from targeting the title, instead suggesting he simply wanted to "build on from what we have", improving on the 82-point tally that secured Liverpool third place last season. With four matches still to play, the new champions could yet end up with as many as 94 points this campaign.
Above all, he told fans "there is a change [from Klopp], but the change hopefully isn’t that big".
Maintaining playing style
In fact, that had been one of the key reasons for his hiring, with the club actively seeking evolution rather than revolution.
Then Feyenoord head coach, Slot had been identified as a figure who would not differ markedly from Klopp’s tactical approach, allowing the players to maintain the on-field relationships they had long ago developed.
"Our playing style is not so much different," said Slot, of comparisons with Klopp, at his first press conference in early July.
An unbeaten pre-season was followed by three successive wins – including a 3-0 victory at fierce rivals Man Utd – in a perfect start to the Premier League campaign.
But Slot’s honeymoon period was swiftly brought to an end by a Nuno Espirito Santo tactical masterclass that resulted in a 1-0 Nottingham Forest win at Anfield.
Slot's first five PL matches
"It is a big setback," said Slot in a notably short post-match press conference. "A big disappointment."
Little did he know that he would not see his side lose again for almost four months – a run of 24 matches in all competitions.
A dream start
When it came to following Klopp’s identity on the pitch, Slot proved true to his word in steering clear of wholesale changes. The German’s high-octane, heavy-metal, 4-3-3 style was replaced by a slightly more measured 4-2-3-1 approach.
The use of a double pivot in midfield was one of the most notable alterations.
Usually used as a No 8 under Klopp, Ryan Gravenberch was shifted back as a No 6 and flourished in the opening few months of the campaign.
He remains one of three mainstays, alongside Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk, who have started every Premier League match this season.
A more traditional No 10 was employed behind the front striker; sometimes this was Curtis Jones but more often Dominik Szoboszlai.
Liverpool average positions and most used line-up
There were subtle tweaks to Liverpool’s methods, displaying greater patience with the ball and asking defensive players to wait marginally longer before building up play.
When not in possession, Slot instructed his players to relax the intensity of the stifling press Klopp had demanded, happily resulting in a small reduction in turnovers high up the pitch.
Almost all of Slot’s changes were slight, with a total absence of bombast.
By the time reigning Premier League champions Manchester City visited Anfield at the start of December, Slot had overseen a remarkable 17 wins from his opening 19 games in all competitions.
In a match expected to have huge bearings on the title race, his side flew out of the blocks and suffocated City in a quite brilliant opening 35 minutes. It took Pep Guardiola’s team 39 minutes to even have a shot – Man City’s longest wait in a Premier League game since 2010.
Goals from Cody Gakpo and Salah provided a 2-0 win that could easily have been so much bigger, given Liverpool’s domination.
Guardiola was left with no response other than to raise six fingers to the goading Liverpool fans to indicate the number of Premier League titles he had won. Slot, meanwhile, admitted his side were "close" to perfection. Just 13 league matches into the season, Liverpool’s margin at the top was already nine points.
Watch highlights of Liverpool 2-0 Man City
Domestic joy extended to a flawless early European campaign, with seven wins from their first seven UEFA Champions League matches ensuring they would progress from the league phase as a top seed, regardless of the result in their final fixture.
A comeback triumph at AC Milan had been followed by victories over Bologna, RB Leipzig and Bayer Leverkusen, before the visit of 15-time European champions Real Madrid, whom Liverpool had failed to beat in eight previous meetings in the competition, including two Champions League finals.
Switching to a 4-3-3 formation, Liverpool controlled proceedings, before heeding Slot’s half-time words to "try to be even more patient, let the gaps open up instead of forcing them".
Alexis Mac Allister and Gakpo scored soon after the break, in a memorable victory that featured Conor Bradley in a starring role at right-back.
Unexpected cup exits
The new year brought something untoward for Slot and his borderline impeccable side: irregular defeats.
Some were relatively meaningless. A first loss since that unexpected Nottingham Forest triumph back in September came in the opening leg of the EFL Cup semi-final at Tottenham Hotspur.
Slot’s side simply overran their opponents in the return leg to emerge 4-1 winners on aggregate.
A vastly changed team, with most big-name players rested, then slipped to a 3-2 defeat at PSV Eindhoven in the last league-phase game of the Champions League. Liverpool still finished top of the 32-team table.
At that stage, Slot’s side were still fighting on four fronts, although their divided attention would soon be focused solely on the Premier League.
A shock 1-0 defeat at Championship strugglers Plymouth Argyle knocked them out of the FA Cup, before a painful week in mid-March that saw them exit Europe and lose the EFL Cup final.
Having barely broken stride in the Champions League so far, Liverpool secured a 1-0 win in the first leg of their last-16 tie at Paris Saint-Germain, and then lost on penalties after going down 1-0 in the second leg at Anfield.
"It was the best game of football I have ever been involved in," said Slot. "It was an incredible performance. Maybe we ran out of luck because the margins were so small. We played the perfect game, except for scoring a goal."
Five days later, Slot conceded that Newcastle United deserved their 2-1 EFL Cup final win after ensuring the match was played in their preferred physical style.
"Even Liverpool can lose football games," said Slot. "That’s what can happen."
With the season’s final international break denying Liverpool the chance of a quick return to action and right the wrongs of previous days, questions began to be raised for the first time under Slot.
Was this the start of a possible downfall? Could they feasibly go from Treble contenders, who had been lauded as the best team in Europe, to ending up without any silverware?
One of the earliest title wins in Premier League history provides an emphatic answer.
By the time of their EFL Cup final defeat, Liverpool were already 12 points clear of the chasing pack. Some tricky moments followed – the end of their 26-match unbeaten league run at Fulham and a last-gasp Van Dijk winner to see off West Ham United – but Slot’s team will forever be remembered as dominant champions.
Maintaining focus
At his first press conference as Liverpool head coach on 5 July, Slot had appeared alongside the club’s new sporting director, Richard Hughes.
Just three questions in, Hughes was asked about the uncertain futures of Salah, Van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold – three players whose contracts were due to expire at the end of the season.
If Slot was in any doubt about the regular grilling he would receive on the matter over the coming months, it served as an immediate warning.
Given the trio’s high-profile status and importance to the team, it was a subject that could so easily have threatened to derail the entire campaign; there is plenty of precedent for such matters doing so.
In early January, Salah publicly stated that this would be his "last year" at Liverpool, adding: "There is no [contract] progress there. We are far away from any progress."
Fortunately, negotiations – or a lack of them – did not affect his performances on the pitch, as Salah surged clear at the top of the Premier League goals and assists charts. Nor, too, with captain Van Dijk or Alexander-Arnold, who routinely starred for Slot’s side.
Throughout it all, Slot remained his typical restrained, level self, breezily brushing off the customary contract questions and sticking to the not-insignificant task of maintaining the players’ focus.
When news emerged earlier this month that Salah and Van Dijk had signed new two-year deals to remain at the club it was vindication of the excellent job Slot has done.
Even more so when considering the lack of personnel changes during his time at the helm.
The only new first-team player who had not featured under Klopp is Federico Chiesa, who has been required for just 37 minutes in the Premier League all season, prior to the Tottenham Hotspur match. Slot has worked almost entirely with the existing tools at his disposal.
That he has turned them into such strong Premier League front-runners that there was rarely any realistic danger of them being caught is a remarkable achievement.
The last time Liverpool won the league title, by a dominant 18-point margin in 2019/20, they did so behind closed doors.
This time, supporters will be able to savour every remaining moment in the stands, honouring the groundwork Klopp laid over nine years and the extraordinary start to the Slot era. Where will it go next?