Liverpool’s new head coach, Arne Slot, is inheriting a strong squad that exceeded expectations in the 2023/24 season. However, their Premier League form highlights a key issue that needs to be addressed. Jurgen Klopp was determined to leave behind a team in top shape, and the revamp of Liverpool’s midfield proved successful in addressing the personnel problem they faced a year ago.
Slot will officially begin his role on June 1st and is eager to start working with his new players when pre-season begins the following month. He and his staff have already expressed their intention to thoroughly analyze Liverpool’s strengths and weaknesses by watching a lot of games from the previous season.
One area that Slot will be particularly focused on is Liverpool’s slow starts. Based on scores in the first half of games only, Liverpool would have finished fifth in the Premier League this season. Manchester City, Arsenal, Chelsea, and Aston Villa would have all finished above them. However, when it comes to second-half scorelines only, Liverpool were the champions.
Analyzing goal times, it becomes clear that Liverpool struggled to find the back of the net in the first 15 minutes of matches, with only three goals scored during that period. Sheffield United is the only team that scored fewer goals in the opening 15 minutes. Additionally, Liverpool conceded more goals than they scored in this time frame, with Brentford, Crystal Palace, Nottingham Forest, West Ham, and Wolves being the only sides to concede more early goals than Liverpool’s eight. On the other hand, Liverpool’s most prolific period for goals was between the 76th and 90th minutes, with 27 goals scored – more than any other team. They also conceded 10 goals during this period. Interestingly, Liverpool and Luton had the same average minute for goals scored in the Premier League (56 minutes), which was the latest among all teams.
Conceding first proved to be a challenge for Liverpool, as they shipped the opening goal in 16 of their 38 league games. Six of those goals were conceded at Anfield, while the remaining 10 were conceded away from home. In comparison, Arsenal conceded first the fewest times, with a total of eight (five at home and three away), while Manchester City conceded first in 11 games (three at home and eight away). Manchester City led games for a league-high 49.7 percent of minutes, followed by Arsenal at 42.3 percent, and Liverpool at a much lower 34.2 percent. Only West Ham had an earlier average time for conceding opening goals than Liverpool (25 minutes). Despite conceding first, Liverpool earned an impressive 1.5 points per game (PPG), second only to Manchester City’s 1.82 PPG.
Liverpool’s form at Anfield and on the road showed a noticeable difference, particularly when it came to conceding first. Based on their home results alone, Liverpool would have finished as the top team in the Premier League. However, their away form ranked them as the third-best team, behind Manchester City and Arsenal. Newcastle had the highest difference in points per game between their home and away form (+1.06), while Liverpool earned +0.74 more points per game at home than they did away.
In conclusion, Arne Slot has a solid squad at his disposal but will need to address Liverpool’s habit of slow starts. Analyzing goal times and conceding first reveals areas for improvement. However, Liverpool’s strong form at Anfield and on the road demonstrates their potential for success under Slot’s leadership.