Cracking the Arne Slot code after first Liverpool game v Real Betis

Liverpool kicked off the Arne Slot era with a win. We’re all in agreement that the behind-closed-doors friendly against Preston North End does not count, right? 

The Reds opened their American tour with a 1-0 victory over Real Betis in Pittsburgh. They’re now in Philadelphia ahead of the pre-season clash with Premier League rivals Arsenal.

It is often difficult to take anything away from these matches. They are usually glorified training exercises but when a new manager comes in, they’re a chance to work on a few things.

Players can impress, coaches can weigh up what the squad needs in order to deliver on season expectations and the manager can use the time to bed in his ideas.

With this in mind, it is an invaluable trip for Slot and the limited players he’s been able to take with him this summer. You can garner a lot of insight from these friendlies ahead of the new campaign. But what, if anything, can you take from Slot’s first game in charge of the Reds?

Here are five things we jotted down following the victory over the LaLiga side

Tactical fluidity

Slot wasted no time in making it clear that he’s not afraid to mix things up when required. The former Feyenoord boss, without Darwin Nunez, Cody Gakpo and Diogo Jota, decided to switch things up as opposed to simply shoehorning players into roles they aren’t suited to.

Liverpool, without a senior centre-forward in the squad, played without a striker in the game against Real Betis. Slot could’ve used Mohamed Salah there or maybe Fabio Carvalho as a false-nine, but he instead opted for a strikerless formation.

It was a solution to a short-term problem, as explained by the boss: “We played with a double 10 that we're not going to do during the season but we don't have a striker at the moment. Once we have centre forward, we will set up a bit differently.”

The 45-year-old coach decided that having players in what he deemed to be their best roles was more important than sticking with a system he intended to go with this season. This tactical fluidity is a huge positive heading into the season.  You want a manager who isn’t afraid to react to certain situations.

The Wataru Endo conundrum

It may have only been a friendly but Endo struggled against the Spanish side. He even picked up a booking for pulling a player back. His performance looked even worse after Tyler Morton was brought on. The former Hull City loanee looked at ease in the middle of the park, the complete opposite of the Japan international.

The Reds appear reluctant to part ways with the ex-VfB Stuttgart captain. They rejected a bid from Marseille, believed to be in the region of €14million.  Some reports claim Liverpool aren’t actively looking to sell their No3 while others suggest the Reds are very much prepared to cash-in if a suitable offer arrives.

The fact the Marseille bid is only just coming to light despite Fabrizio Romano suggesting it occurred a few weeks ago points towards the Merseyside club looking to drum up interest in Endo.

It would be naive to write him off after one performance under Slot but put it this way, it wasn’t the best first impression.

Fabio Carvalho’s future

Liverpool went with dual attacking midfielders in this game but decided not to use Carvalho in one of those positions. Many would argue the No10 role is the former Fulham youngster’s natural position, yet he was overlooked in favour of Harvey Elliott and Dominik Szoboszlai.

Carvalho wasn’t shy in his post-match interview, letting the world know he felt as though he should’ve been used as one of the central players.

“We spoke and he told me to try and settle on the wing but obviously I know where I play best and I feel that is as a No.10. I’m just going to do what he wants me to do and just work as hard as I can for him.”

The fact he was used on the left, a position Liverpool already have a lot of depth in, suggests he might not have a long-term future at Anfield under Slot and another move could well be on the cards for him.

Trey Nyoni can be whatever he wants to be

Nyoni replaced the injured Curtis Jones and even though he wasn’t playing in his natural position, he made it all look so easy.

The 17-year-old is more of a No8 or a No10 but against Betis, he was operating in a double pivot.

Liverpool immediately improved after his introduction and it is something Slot flagged in his post-match interview.

"It [Liverpool improving] started with a player who came on [Nyoni] who speeded up the game for us a lot, he found these players in between the lines a lot of times, that's the quality we needed in those No6 positions.”

He could well have a huge part to play for the Reds this season, especially if he’s able to play a variety of roles.

Feyenoord blueprint

While Slot said the 4-2-4 shape with double 10s wasn’t here to stay, the 4-2-4 shape could well be the norm next season.

It is almost identical to how Feyenoord set up under the Dutch tactician and you can already see that the Reds have adopted the Slot style. The build-up includes a staggered double pivot (as seen in the image above) and the wingers stay high and wide during the build-up, the same as they did during his time at De Kuip.

Expect this to continue.