Liverpool have already had some exceptional moments during a terrific start to this season.
Sitting at the top of both the Premier League and Champions League and through to the last eight of the Carabao Cup, the Reds are in a strong position.
A lot of the credit for that has to go to Arne Slot. The Dutchman has come in and immediately got his ideas across to the Liverpool squad.
And although Slot has been keen to highlight the similarities between his and Jurgen Klopp’s style of football, there are also some differences.
One of the more similar things is that the Liverpool of both Klopp and Slot are high-intensity, pressing teams.
This energetic approach has caught out many teams in the past, and did for Carlo Ancelotti and Real Madrid in November. Looking back on that game more than a week later, Ancelotti has admitted that he’s had to make some changes to his Madrid team on the back of it.
Real Madrid's Italian coach Carlo Ancelotti watches the players from the touchline during the UEFA Champions League football match between Liverpoo...
Photo by OLI SCARFF/AFP via Getty Images
Carlo Ancelotti admits to Real Madrid change
Liverpool have a poor record against Madrid and Ancelotti more generally. But Slot turned that around in the Champions League last month.
Since then, Real have gone on to lose another game, being beaten 2-1 by Athletic Bilbao on Wednesday.
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Following that defeat, Ancelotti was asked in a press conference about his team ‘suffering from high pressure’ and included Liverpool in his response.
“It’s true that Liverpool and Athletic are very brave teams,” said the Italian coach.
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“To solve this, we have to play more directly. Look for the second ball, when they fall. That’s the easiest way. Long ball and fight for the second ball.
“That’s what we can do in the future, not forcing the ball out from the back too much. We’ve played Champions League finals using this system. I learned this very well in England. The long ball is another part of football.”
Arne Slot troubling the best
Since his arrival over the summer, only one coach has gotten the better of Slot.
And although Eddie Howe perhaps felt he should have been added to that list on Wednesday, Liverpool still found a way not to lose.
But the crowning moment of Slot’s time as Liverpool head coach so far has to be the Reds’ victory over Madrid.
Ancelotti is one of the greatest managers in football history. The only coach to win five Champions League titles, the 65-year-old has made the very best look like mugs over a near 30-year management career.
But after showing Don Carlo up at Anfield, Slot has proven that there is still a trick or two for him to learn.
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