The Arne Slot era at Liverpool has started with a victory, with his side strolling to a 2-0 victory over Ipswich Town in the Premier League opener at Portman Road this afternoon.
It was a close contest in the first half, one in which the home side arguably created the better of the chances. They tested Alisson Becker with a number of shots on target, although none of them proved to be too troublesome for the Brazilian.
Whereas Liverpool looked like a disjointed attacking outfit in the opening half, they were a well oiled machine after the interval. They would create a number of chances, with goals from Diogo Jota and Mohamed Salah the difference between the sides.
The visitors had a number of chances to extend the lead after that point, but they will be more than satisfied with a 2-0 victory to begin their Premier League campaign.
READ HERE: Keane Gets Last Word After Martinez And Carragher Hilariously Size Each Other Up
Arne Slot Showed Ruthless Streak With Comments On Liverpool Star
Liverpool looked like a different team in the second half of this game, with Arne Slot opting to make one change at halftime. He would replace Jarell Quansah with Ibrahima Konate for the second half, with the youngster having struggled at times at Portman road.
Konate would go on to settle the Liverpool defence from that point onwards, with Ipswich having caused quite a few problems in that area early on in the game.
Speaking on TNT after the match, Slot showed his ruthless side when asked by host Lynsey Hipgrave about taking Quansah off at halftime.
"The second half was a joy to watch"
Arne Slot reflects on his Liverpool side's first Premier League game of the season 🙌
🎙️ @lynseyhipgrave1 | @petercrouch pic.twitter.com/2cb9WVk8yY— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) August 17, 2024
Slot: The first thing I said (at halftime) was that you don't need to talk about tactics if you lose so many duels and that's what we did.
It's not that Jarell [Quansah] lost every duel, many of us lost too many duels, but we needed Konate to win these long balls through the airs for their no.9.
That helped, it gave us control, but they put so much energy into the first half. They had to keep the energy, keep on fighting, they went all over the pitch one-on-one. I don't think they could keep up with that tempo in the second half.
Hipgrave: So it was tactical to take Jarrel Quansah off at halftime?
Slot: Yeah... I didn't see them fighting for it in the first half. We lost every long ball, every duel to both sides. In the second half they were ready.
Arne Slot certainly showed his ruthless side in this game, not being afraid to make early changes if he feels his are not performing to their best.
It will be interesting to see how that dynamic develops at Liverpool over the coming season.
SEE ALSO: Luton Town Goalkeeper Sent Off After Hilarious Hacks On Two Portsmouth Players
