Even as he closed in on the Premier League title that rendered his first season at Liverpool a spectacular success, Arne Slot realised it was getting harder for him. His side were finding it harder to cut opponents open. It was a recognition that underpinned Liverpool’s summer spending. If some of their £450m outlay was spent on a quest for another dimension, Liverpool have instead suffered back-to-back defeats for only the second time in his reign.
Slot nevertheless sees the start of the new campaign as a continuation of the second half of last. He saw Galatasaray’s celebrations when they beat Liverpool on Tuesday, as though it were their Champions League final. He inferred that part of his stellar start at Anfield came from opponents underestimating him, figuring that Liverpool were more beatable without the charismatic presence of Jurgen Klopp.
