Arne Slott admits he was surprised by the “huge change” in the style of play in the Premier League this season, but believes the “technically talented” side are adjusting, which will ultimately give Liverpool an advantage over their rivals.
Liverpool’s head coach made headlines earlier this week when he said entertaining football at Anfield was “more valuable” than winning trophies in the long run.
Speaking to Sky Sports ahead of Sunday’s game against Man City, he backed up those comments, saying: “If you don’t play good football, it’s (almost) impossible to win anything or achieve anything sustainable.”
However, he also pointed out that an increased physical approach from opponents could hinder Liverpool from pursuing the type of football they want to play.
“We never waste time. We always want to press high. We always want to bring the ball out from the back,” he said, explaining Liverpool’s mentality. “But unfortunately we are playing a team with a different approach, which is completely fair to them.
Sunday, February 8th 4pm
4:30pm kickoff
“Every team should play their style which is best for them against us and we have shown that we sometimes struggle with that style.
“Even if the other team does everything they can to find the pace of the game, it doesn’t necessarily mean that one team will be able to find the pace or get things going.
Use Chrome Browser for a more accessible video player
Watch for free: Highlights of the Premier League match between Liverpool and Newcastle.
“When we play more open games this season, we’ve always shown that we want to be in those games and we’ve done really well. But the games where we dropped points looked and felt different, but it wasn’t what we wanted, it was forced on us.”
“Now, the next step is to make sure that if that style of play is forced on us, we’re good enough to change it towards the game we want.
Use Chrome Browser for a more accessible video player
Following Arne Slott’s comments that playing good football is more important than trophies, Jamie O’Hara insists Liverpool are achieving neither and says the manager will have to step down if they fail to qualify for the Champions League this season.
“This is something new in the Premier League. It’s something you see a lot, not just in our games. It’s something we have to accept and find the right answer.”
“Last season was completely different.”
Asked about the change in style in England’s top flight, Slott admitted his team sometimes struggled, particularly from set-pieces, and suggested that Liverpool’s squad had to adapt to the new demands of the league.
But he believes it could work in their favor in the end.
“Certainly, things have changed. Things have changed a lot,” he said.
“Having been here last season, I didn’t expect the league to be like this this season, but it’s been completely different for me.
“Maybe we’ve had something like this season once, twice, three times, but this season was a big, big, big change.
“Look at the team at the top of the Premier League (Arsenal). It’s no exaggeration to say they’re the best team in the league with set-pieces. If one team is successful – and Arsenal have already been successful for several years with set-pieces -[other teams]try to emulate it.”
“We are also trying to do much better than we are at the moment, but we may have gone in the opposite direction.
“If you look at our players, we haven’t got the biggest, tallest players who are a big threat on set pieces.
“Many of our players are already technically talented and are adapting more and more to the physical style that the Premier League is increasingly becoming.
“That’s a positive thing. As we’ve seen many times this season, if technically gifted players can adapt to that physical style as well, it could give them an advantage over others.”
