Discover Arne Slot’s Liverpool tactics in FM24! Analyse his system, download the recreation, and dominate with high-pressing attacking football!
Recreating Arne Slot’s Liverpool Tactics in Football Manager 2024 –
High-Pressing, Attacking Football Dominates Europe.
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In January 2024, Liverpool managerial legend Jürgen Klopp announced that he would leave his beloved Reds at the end of the 23/24 season. This announcement, understandably, sent shockwaves around Europe, especially given the fact Liverpool were well and truly in the Premier League title race at the time. In the end, Klopp didn’t get his fairytale ending as poor form late into the season saw his final season end trophy-less. This announcement also sent shockwaves around the entire club, and it was absolutely vital Liverpool found the correct replacement. Ultimately, relatively unknown Feyenoord manager Arne Slot was the chosen one, and was swiftly appointed as the club’s heir to Klopp’s throne.
Ahead of the 24/25 season, many neutrals and pundits believed Liverpool would
have a transitional year, and would struggle, especially given that Arne Slot
would have to get to grips with English football. However, Arne Slot took
football in England like a duck to water and has led the Reds to a
substantial NINE-point gap at the summit of the Premier League.
In this article, I’ll be giving my brief analysis of the system which has
achieved this and will be demonstrating my recreation of the tactics on
Football Manager 2024, before finally showcasing the staggering results the
tactic achieved in testing! Firstly, let’s look at the core principles of the
system.
Jürgen Klopp, in his nine years at the club, implemented a heavy metal, gegenpressing brand of football to great success. Arne Slot, in this regard, is a very optimal recruit by Liverpool as his brand of football is incredibly similar – both coaches demand intense, high-pressing and attacking football. It’s with this where you can see why Liverpool have adapted so smoothly to Slot’s system, as the core principles are very akin – just with slightly different details.
Amid the rise of box-shaped midfields in European football, clubs in England, especially, have reverted to traditional 4-4-2 defensive shapes, as you can match up the midfield box created by teams. The issue with the 4-4-2, however, is that it can be easily overloaded by a three-man midfield, famously exposed in England by José Mourinho and his 04-05 Chelsea team. Arne Slot has spotted this vulnerability and is looking to exploit it as many times as he can. He does this by forming a slightly staggered 4-3-3 shape in possession, with one of the holding midfielders vacating his position, allowing the other (typically Gravenberch) to become a single pivot. And, instead of having a full-back invert or having a centre-back step up to create a double-pivot, the single pivot remains a single pivot. What this creates is clear numerical superiority in the midfield, and no-one know how to crack it! That is because of…
As mentioned above, the common thing to have your full-backs do in possession nowadays is to have them invert, join the centre-backs or move higher to offer width. Arne Slot, however, positions his full-backs in very interesting areas of the pitch that are reminiscent of a classic ‘quarterback’s’ positioning in an American Football game. This is significant as it asks major questions of the opposition:
Do you press the full-backs?
or
Do you stick to your position?
Each question has an answer, of course, and yet each answer has its benefits and detriments. For example, if you were to press the full-backs you would be eliminating the deep threat, especially with Trent Alexander-Arnold and his elite vision and passing ability. However, the drawback of this is that space opens up for one of the midfielders to arrive into. And, with Liverpool already have a numerical advantage in central areas, this would only exacerbate the issues posed by Slot’s side. On the other hand, if the opposition were to opt against pressing/marking the full-backs, this would give Liverpool the opportunity to move the ball out of the build-up phase with ease and allow them to assert themselves.
READ ALSO: Recreating Rúben Amorim’s Tactics for Man Utd in FM24!
When Liverpool have the ball, they look to build out from the back relatively quickly. They can position their players slightly narrow, in order to open up the flanks for direct passes into the wingers – especially Salah. When given the opportunity, Liverpool will also look to play passes in-behind for the likes of Salah, Diaz, Nunéz etc to chase. Liverpool also look to exploit the half-spaces regularly, and this is particularly prominent on the right-hand side, with the likes of Szoboszlai and Jones bearing fruits from these situations. Finally, Liverpool use rotations a lot, especially in wide areas.
When Liverpool lose the ball, they immediately look to counter-press and try to win the ball back. If successful, Liverpool will look to hit teams on the counter-attack – a facet of the system which has been particularly successful for the team. To initiate their build-up play, Alisson/Kelleher will tend to put their studs on the ball, as Liverpool look to bait the opposition to press in early build-up phases. If the opposition don’t take the bait, Alisson/Kelleher will distribute short to the centre-backs and you’ll usually see these three rotating possession between themselves in an attempt to bait in the opposition’s press.
When Liverpool don’t have the ball, they will sit in a high-block. In this high-block, Liverpool will look to press high and force teams to play centrally – from here, the single-pivot becomes the press trigger. When pressing high, you’ll rarely see the front two (Striker and No.10) press the centre-backs; Instead it'll be the two wingers pressing from out to in, whilst blocking off the passing angle into the opposition full-back on their side. This forces the opposition centre-backs to either attempt a low-percentage ball forward or to play inside. To aid this high-press, Liverpool will hold a high line – not as high as Klopp’s Liverpool, but still a high line, nonetheless.
Big Similarities – Small Differences
Jürgen Klopp, in his nine years at the club, implemented a heavy metal, gegenpressing brand of football to great success. Arne Slot, in this regard, is a very optimal recruit by Liverpool as his brand of football is incredibly similar – both coaches demand intense, high-pressing and attacking football. It’s with this where you can see why Liverpool have adapted so smoothly to Slot’s system, as the core principles are very akin – just with slightly different details.
The Discreet Beauty of the Triangle
Amid the rise of box-shaped midfields in European football, clubs in England, especially, have reverted to traditional 4-4-2 defensive shapes, as you can match up the midfield box created by teams. The issue with the 4-4-2, however, is that it can be easily overloaded by a three-man midfield, famously exposed in England by José Mourinho and his 04-05 Chelsea team. Arne Slot has spotted this vulnerability and is looking to exploit it as many times as he can. He does this by forming a slightly staggered 4-3-3 shape in possession, with one of the holding midfielders vacating his position, allowing the other (typically Gravenberch) to become a single pivot. And, instead of having a full-back invert or having a centre-back step up to create a double-pivot, the single pivot remains a single pivot. What this creates is clear numerical superiority in the midfield, and no-one know how to crack it! That is because of…
Arne Slot’s ‘Quarterbacks’
As mentioned above, the common thing to have your full-backs do in possession nowadays is to have them invert, join the centre-backs or move higher to offer width. Arne Slot, however, positions his full-backs in very interesting areas of the pitch that are reminiscent of a classic ‘quarterback’s’ positioning in an American Football game. This is significant as it asks major questions of the opposition:
Do you press the full-backs?
or
Do you stick to your position?
Each question has an answer, of course, and yet each answer has its benefits and detriments. For example, if you were to press the full-backs you would be eliminating the deep threat, especially with Trent Alexander-Arnold and his elite vision and passing ability. However, the drawback of this is that space opens up for one of the midfielders to arrive into. And, with Liverpool already have a numerical advantage in central areas, this would only exacerbate the issues posed by Slot’s side. On the other hand, if the opposition were to opt against pressing/marking the full-backs, this would give Liverpool the opportunity to move the ball out of the build-up phase with ease and allow them to assert themselves.
READ ALSO: Recreating Rúben Amorim’s Tactics for Man Utd in FM24!
Let’s Break Down the Tactic
- [message]
- DISCLAIMER:
- There are multiple versions of the tactic, all of which will be in the file inside the download link that’s attached to this article.
In Possession
When Liverpool have the ball, they look to build out from the back relatively quickly. They can position their players slightly narrow, in order to open up the flanks for direct passes into the wingers – especially Salah. When given the opportunity, Liverpool will also look to play passes in-behind for the likes of Salah, Diaz, Nunéz etc to chase. Liverpool also look to exploit the half-spaces regularly, and this is particularly prominent on the right-hand side, with the likes of Szoboszlai and Jones bearing fruits from these situations. Finally, Liverpool use rotations a lot, especially in wide areas.
In Transition
When Liverpool lose the ball, they immediately look to counter-press and try to win the ball back. If successful, Liverpool will look to hit teams on the counter-attack – a facet of the system which has been particularly successful for the team. To initiate their build-up play, Alisson/Kelleher will tend to put their studs on the ball, as Liverpool look to bait the opposition to press in early build-up phases. If the opposition don’t take the bait, Alisson/Kelleher will distribute short to the centre-backs and you’ll usually see these three rotating possession between themselves in an attempt to bait in the opposition’s press.
Out of Possession
When Liverpool don’t have the ball, they will sit in a high-block. In this high-block, Liverpool will look to press high and force teams to play centrally – from here, the single-pivot becomes the press trigger. When pressing high, you’ll rarely see the front two (Striker and No.10) press the centre-backs; Instead it'll be the two wingers pressing from out to in, whilst blocking off the passing angle into the opposition full-back on their side. This forces the opposition centre-backs to either attempt a low-percentage ball forward or to play inside. To aid this high-press, Liverpool will hold a high line – not as high as Klopp’s Liverpool, but still a high line, nonetheless.
READ ALSO: Hansi Flick’s Barcelona Invincibles Tactic - FM24 Recreation
The ‘keeper in this system must be available as a passing option but isn’t usually as adventurous as Ederson at Man City, for example, where he’s asked to help form a back-three/four. When Liverpool don’t have the ball, the ‘keeper has the responsibility of sweeping loose balls in-behind. Therefore, I felt this role was best suit. No additional instructions.
The right-back in this system has to, like their other half, be available in deep build-up. However, unlike their other half, the right-back is given licence to move forward to support Salah on the right. From here, instead of holding the width themselves, the right-back will invert to occupy the opposition full-back. This will see Salah remain available as he holds the width on that side. Something interesting I found when analysing Alexander-Arnold’s FBREF report was that, under Slot, he seems to be carrying the ball forward far more often than under Klopp – therefore ‘Dribble More’ was applied. Lastly, Trent usually looks to utilize his exceptional long-passing ability and vision, and this has seen him provide goals for Salah on a few occasions this season. Therefore, I felt this role was perfect, with the additional instructions below:
Player Instructions
Sweeper Keeper – Support
The ‘keeper in this system must be available as a passing option but isn’t usually as adventurous as Ederson at Man City, for example, where he’s asked to help form a back-three/four. When Liverpool don’t have the ball, the ‘keeper has the responsibility of sweeping loose balls in-behind. Therefore, I felt this role was best suit. No additional instructions.
Full-Back – Attack
The right-back in this system has to, like their other half, be available in deep build-up. However, unlike their other half, the right-back is given licence to move forward to support Salah on the right. From here, instead of holding the width themselves, the right-back will invert to occupy the opposition full-back. This will see Salah remain available as he holds the width on that side. Something interesting I found when analysing Alexander-Arnold’s FBREF report was that, under Slot, he seems to be carrying the ball forward far more often than under Klopp – therefore ‘Dribble More’ was applied. Lastly, Trent usually looks to utilize his exceptional long-passing ability and vision, and this has seen him provide goals for Salah on a few occasions this season. Therefore, I felt this role was perfect, with the additional instructions below:
Ball-Playing Defender – Defend
Both centre-backs in this system have to be comfortable with the ball at their feet, however, they have slightly different demands asked of them. The right-sided centre-back is mainly asked to progress the play over shorter distances, whereas his partner (Van Dijk) is asked to progress play over longer distances. Therefore, I felt this role was best suit. No additional instructions.
Central Defender – Defend
I’ll be the first to admit that Van Dijk is more of a Ball-Playing Defender – however, on FM, you can’t instruct a Ball-Playing Defender to opt for ‘More Direct Passes’. The direct passes are crucial to encourage switches of play in-game, as Van Dijk will regularly switch the play to Salah on the right, who’s holding the width. Therefore, I had to improvise. My improvisation can be seen below:
Full-Back – Defend
As aforementioned, whilst their movements are similar in a few regards, the full-backs do make contrasting movements when the team have settled possession. On the left, Robertson will tend to hold his position and will often form a wide back-three with the two centre-backs. Therefore, I felt this role was perfect, with the additional player instruction below:
Defensive Midfielder – Support
Gravenberch, under his fellow Dutchman Slot, has expanded his game this season and has been one of the best midfielders in Europe this season. Under Klopp, Gravenberch was used more as a number-8 who’d look to affect the game from higher positions. However, this season, his immense composure and impressive ball-manipulation have come to the fore in a deeper position, as he’s very astute at rotating possession for the Reds and dictating play. In this position, Gravenberch will move side to side and help to rotate possession and keep the ball moving. He'll also look to utilize his elite ball-carrying ability to move the ball higher up the pitch and can also look to use direct passes as a means of progression. Therefore, I feel this role is perfect with the added instructions below:
Segundo Volante – Support
The midfielder in this position needs to be able to drop in first and (sometimes) second phase build-up to help rotate possession and create numerical overloads. However, his main job is to move higher and help to form the slightly staggered midfield three; This will also see him move into the half-spaces to overload wide areas. In MacAllister’s case, especially, he’ll look to take more risks with his passes and can look to play balls in-behind for the attackers to chase. Finally, I didn’t actually have ‘Get Further Forward’ selected originally. However, I noticed he wasn’t moving high enough in the match engine, and I felt applying this instruction helped him to do so. With that said, I felt this was the perfect role selection, with the added instructions below:
Attacking Midfielder – Attack
In this position, the attacking midfielder is asked to frequently roam from his position to help create overloads, especially on the left-hand side. Beyond that, he’s mainly asked to provide those underlapping runs in the right half-space that were previously mentioned. He can also be a lateral goal-threat, given his prominent off-the-ball movement. Finally, he’s usually asked to form a front two with the striker to form a 4-4-2 out-of-possession. Therefore, I felt this role was as close to perfection as the match engine would allow, with the following added instructions:
Inverted Winger – Attack
Salah has been simply sensational this season, as he has accumulated 18 (EIGHTEEN) goal contributions in JUST 13 (THIRTEEN) Premier League games – and he’s on for a record-breaking season in his (potentially) final season with the club. In this system, Salah is asked to hold the width like a usual winger, however, especially at the end of attacking moves, he will invert. Therefore, I felt the ‘Winger’ role was not suitable. Furthermore, the ‘Winger’ role doesn’t encourage creative play from the player, and I felt adding the instruction ‘Take More Risks’ was vital for Salah’s role. This season, Salah’s creative numbers have skyrocketed, and he is now an elite creative threat. This is especially seen with his crosses into the back post – a facet of his role seen in Liverpool’s recent 2-0 statistical demolition of Man City as the Egyptian King played a sensational low cross into the back post for Gakpo to tap-in with ease. When Liverpool don’t have the ball, the wingers will press the opposition centre-backs with insane intensity, and this isn’t any different for Salah. Finally, I selected the ‘Attack’ duty as Salah is Liverpool’s outlet for counter-attacks and the point at which the ball is switched to by Van Dijk. In game, this will see him make runs in-behind like a classic Inside Forward. Therefore, I felt this was a perfect replication of Salah’s role in this system, with the added instructions below:
Inside Forward – Support
In this system, the left-winger, like Salah on the right, is asked to hold the width and to stretch the field like a usual winger. However, unlike a usual winger, the left-winger will often be a/the target for Salah’s back-post crosses and this has been seen on multiple occasions, for example in the goal I referred to when talking about Salah’s role, where Gakpo made a run from out-to-in to tap-in Salah’s low cross. Another example would be Luis Diaz’ second goal away at Man Utd, where he moved from out-to-in to convert a Salah cross to the back-post. Finally, like Salah on the other side, the left-winger will press the opposition’s centre-backs very intensely. Therefore, I felt this role was as close to perfection as I could get in the match engine, with the added instructions below:
Complete Forward – Support
The striker in this system, like the no.10 behind him, has to roam from his position to help create overloads. However, if unnecessary, the striker can situationally choose whether to drop deep to receive the ball to feet or make a penetrative run in-behind to chase a ball in-behind. Finally, like the no.10 behind him, the striker will form a front two and will rarely press the centre-backs. Therefore, I felt this role was suitable with the added instructions below:
- [message]
- DISCLAIMER:
- The AM – At and CF – Su will both mark specific positions. Those positions being marked are: AM – DCL / ST – DCR
Results
I’ll be posting individual match results, including an 8-0 WIN vs CHELSEA (!), on my X profile @AshtonGgmu.
However, let’s have a look at the seasonal results this tactic achieved in testing!
Premier League
In the Premier league, we simply blew the competition out of the water as we stormed to the league title! Of the 38 games we played, we won 33 games, drew 1 game and lost the other 4 games; This meant we conjured up a joint-record-breaking points total of 100 points! In the league, we also scored 132 goals and only conceded 29 – leaving us with a goal difference of +103! This should’ve been more significant as well, as we conceded 6 more goals than xG suggests we should’ve!
Domestic Cups
We were just as impressive in domestic competitions as we were in the league, as we won both the Carabao Cup and FA Cup! In the former, we beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-4 in the final, after beating Newcastle, West Ham, Preston and Shrewsbury on our way to the final. In the latter, we beat Pep Guardiola’s Man City 0-6 (SIX-NIL) in the final! On our way to Wembley, we beat Arsenal, Sheffield Utd, Crystal Palace, Doncaster and West Brom 1-2, 0-3, 1-3, 0-7 and 2-4 respectively!
UEFA Champions league
We ended up completing the historical quadruple by winning the UEFA Champions League, after beating Real Madrid 1-4 in the final! On our way to the final, we beat Man City, RB Leipzig and Galatasaray 5-2, 4-7 and 6-1 on aggregate respectively, after successfully navigating a group containing Borussia Dortmund, Sporting CP and VfB Stuttgart!
Conclusion
When club legend Jürgen Klopp announced that he’d be leaving Liverpool at the end of the 23/24 season, it sent shockwaves around world football, and it hurt Liverpool as their quadruple charge was inadvertently sent off course and Klopp’s final surge ended trophy-less. This collapse meant it was even more pivotal that Liverpool got their decision correct on who’d replace the German, and it seems like the Reds have struck gold with Arne Slot, who has got the club firing on all cylinders and beating Europe’s elite week-in week-out. In his short tenure so far, Slot has put Liverpool in the driving seat in the title race, as they now sit NINE-points clear at the top. Of course, nothing is won before Christmas, however, Slot has put the Red’s in a commanding position to win multiple trophies this season, and with Man City faltering and Arsenal stuttering, it looks like Liverpool may just storm to the title this season and level Manchester United on a record 20 Premier League titles. In this article, I have shown you my tactical recreation of this seemingly unstoppable Liverpool side under Arne Slot and demonstrated the strong results the tactic achieved in testing. If you want a taste of this irresistible tactic, make sure to download the tactic using the link attached to this article and follow FM Blog and myself on our respective socials. I hope you have enjoyed this article, and I wish you much success with this tactic on your saves! Thanks for reading!
