Snap Slot: Liverpool FC vs Real Betis

It’s a time of transition for Liverpool, with the Jurgen Klopp era firmly behind them as Arne Slot takes his turn in the spotlight and the Reds open their pre-season tour of the US against Real Betis in La League, in Pittsburgh. The match ended 1-0 for Liverpool thanks to a well-worked goal from Dominik Szoboszlai.

For fans, however, it was the first chance to gauge just how different things will be under the Dutchman. It’s hard to make statements after just one match – especially one where most of the players you might expect to make it to the 18th matchday are still on break following international tours. So for this series, we’ll instead look at five observations from the match and see if possible we can start to piece together some expectations of how Arne Slot’s Liverpool might perform week in and week out.

1. Counter Press is still here: Liverpool still look intent on controlling the ball and regaining possession up the pitch. The pressing patterns will take some getting used to, but it was quite thrilling to see Liverpool remain determined to have as much of the ball as possible. I’m not sure how much of Liverpool’s possession numbers are due to the way Betis often operate, but it felt quite familiar to see the Reds keep the ball and win it back. It was also nice to see that, even with the large number of youth players involved, that style seemed deeply ingrained and evident throughout the match.
2. Harvey Elliott has 10: The match featured both Szoboszlai and Harvey Elliott in a double 10 pivot of sorts, occupying a bit of space where you might expect a traditional 9 to operate. This created some interesting scenarios – a lot of well-worked balls from the wings, for example, ended up with nowhere to go as no striker was in the center of the box to focus a pass. But there seemed to be some openings based on the movement of Elliott and Szobo. This won’t be a lineup we’re likely to see based on Slot’s postgame comments, but it was interesting to see Elliott play in a spot that looks to play to his strengths offensively. It will be great to see how this plays out.
3. The Trey Nyoni Hype Train is in full swing: The young midfielder received some plaudits based on his performances last year and was also part of that great FA Cup run that saw many youngsters embed their names in Liverpool lore. Nyoni saw the pitch with Curtis Jones coming off as a precaution in the 13th minute and immediately established himself as one to watch. Trey was instrumental in goal and also played a superb pass to set up the big chance for Harvey Blair in the second half. It will be fun to watch him and Bobby Clark – once the latter is fully recovered from injury – to see if they might be able to feature in the first team this year.
4. Sepp van den Berg looks intent on forcing his way into the centre-back discussion: Once looked like a talent, but in addition to Jurgen Klopp’s plans, the Dutch centre-back had an impressive display alongside Jarell Quansah. A questionable pass or two aside, he worked quite well and served to ensure that Real Betis won’t pose too much of a threat going forward. Whether he stays or leaves, it’s understandable why he seems to be holding the most interest among players tipped to leave.
5. Fabio Carvalho remains an enigma: Quotes associated with the young striker state that his preferred position is 10 – a spot that former Fulham team-mate Harvey Elliott appears to own – but he has been sent on the wing. It’s a loaded spot right now – Luis Diaz, Cody Gakpo, Diogo Jota and Darwin Nuñez can all operate from that position. But his performance there looked effective both in terms of possession and movement and positioning. Like van den Berg, it is unclear whether Liverpool have enough minutes to fulfill Carvalho’s wish at this stage of his career. But I imagine he could be a decent attacking option off the bench and a starter in the domestic cups.

With that, Liverpool turned their attention to Wednesday’s match with Arsenal in Philadelphia. We’ll check back in after that game to see any changes or new wrinkles as we look to understand Arne Slot’s philosophy and how it will be implemented on Merseyside.