'Impressive': Andros Townsend says he spotted Arne Slot try out some brand new tactics for Liverpool last night
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A rotated Liverpool side continued their excellent Champions League campaign with a 2-1 win over Lille on Tuesday.
The Reds have been perfect in Europe this season and have now won seven out of seven in the new-look League Phase.
Another win on Tuesday meant that Liverpool have now qualified for the last-16 outright and are guaranteed to finish in the top two of the Champions League table.
Arne Slot has every right to be delighted with what his team have delivered during what is only his second season in Europe’s top club competition.
Slot has proven himself to be more than comfortable at this level, swatting away every challenge that he’s been presented so far.
And as the Liverpool head coach settles more and more into his role with each passing game, BBC pundits Andros Townsend and Stephen Warnock noticed him trying some new tactics out against Lille.
Arne Slot praised for tactical variation
It has been amazing how quickly Slot has implemented his style of play at Liverpool. These may still largely be Jurgen Klopp’s players, but they are singing from Slot’s hymn sheet.
But despite the more patient, passing approach being hugely successful for the Dutch coach so far, both Townsend and Warnock noticed Slot’s team going more direct against Lille.
“We’ve spoken at times this season about how patient Liverpool are now,” Townsend told BBC Football Daily.
“They still had elements of that in this match but the thing that impressed me most in this game was on the turnovers, how direct they were just to find Salah and Nunez in the space.”
“Not only did they pick them out perfectly but it was the perfect moments as Lille were getting momentum and committing players forward,” added the former England winger. “It was like win the ball back, bang, straight away can we put Salah in.
“That’s where they got the goal from and they could have had one or two more. It’s so impressive that we’ve got this almost perfect Liverpool team at the moment who are adding more strings to their bow as the season’s going on.”
Warnock adds in-stadium perspective
With Townsend back in the BBC studio, he was keen to get the thoughts of former Liverpool full-back Warnock, who was inside Anfield to take in the game.
And according to the pundit, Liverpool were indeed visibly more direct as a result of Lille’s own game plan to squeeze the pitch.
“What you might not see on the telly is that the Lille players were trying to squeeze the line up and condense the pitch and make it as tight as possible,” said Warnock.
“So, on the turnover of possession they’re trying to go tight, Salah has come short and someone will spin in behind and effectively that’s what led to the first goal and what led to Diaz getting the man sent off.”
When one style isn’t working, Slot is more than capable of switching to the other and it is fantastically impressive to see.
