Arne Slot believes Liverpool’s new signings can benefit from their Community Shield defeat, seeing it as a valuable introduction to the Premier League’s intensity. Despite defensive concerns, Slot remains optimistic, highlighting the learning opportunity for new players. Liverpool faces Bournemouth in their opening game, with both teams having new defensive setups.
Arne Slot, the new Liverpool manager, believes that the recent Community Shield defeat to Crystal Palace could prove to be a valuable learning experience for the club's new signings. Despite the loss, Slot sees the game as an opportunity for the players to get "a good first impression" of the intensity and challenges of the Premier League.
Liverpool suffered a 3-2 defeat on penalties after a 2-2 draw in normal time against Crystal Palace in the Community Shield on Sunday. A shootout that saw misses from Mohamed Salah, Alexis Mac Allister, and Harvey Elliott. The match, while intended as a pre-season warm-up, highlighted some of the areas that Slot needs to address before the start of the new campaign.
The club has been active in the transfer market this summer, bringing in several new faces, including Florian Wirtz for a British-record transfer fee. Other additions include Hugo Ekitike, Jeremie Frimpong, and Milos Kerkez, all of whom are expected to bolster the squad's depth and quality.
However, Liverpool's pre-season form has raised some concerns, particularly regarding their defensive vulnerabilities. In six friendly matches, they conceded nine goals, with their backline often struggling to contain opposition attacks. The Community Shield match against Palace was no exception, as they looked defensively shaky.
Virgil van Dijk, usually a reliable presence in defense, conceded a penalty and was later caught out of position, allowing Ismaila Sarr to score the equalizing goal. These defensive lapses are something that Slot will need to rectify quickly, with their opening Premier League fixture against Bournemouth looming this Friday.
Despite the defeat, Slot remains optimistic, emphasizing the positive aspects of the game for the new players. He believes that experiencing the physicality and competitiveness of the Premier League early on will help them adapt more quickly. "I think it’s a good first impression the new players have, [those] that haven’t played in this league last season," Slot told the Liverpool website.
He further elaborated on the quality of Crystal Palace, noting that their 12th-place finish last season might not accurately reflect their true strength. "This [Palace] was the number 12 [12th-placed team] of last season – a very good team, especially in the end they did so well that they maybe are better than the number 12 [position] they ended up in."
Slot added that the game served as a reminder of the challenges that lie ahead, stating, "But if these are the number 12 that can make it such a hard time for you, you know what you are going to have to expect if you play here and that is what they know now."
He also stressed the importance of being prepared for every game, as Liverpool will be a target for every team they face. "And the ones that played here for a longer time also know that if you won the league, if you wear a Liverpool shirt, everybody wants to win desperately against you and we have to be more ready for that than we were today."
Analyzing the game, Slot pointed out a specific moment of defensive disarray that led to Palace's second goal. "We did quite well, in my opinion, until the moment of the 2-2 where we opened up completely in the middle, and he could just go one-on-one to Ali [Alisson Becker], which happened in the first half as well."
He acknowledged that conceding two goals in every game is not a recipe for success, saying, "That is too much for us, but overall, I don’t think we conceded so many chances that we now have to discuss us being poor in defence. But if you want to win something, you cannot concede in every game two goals."
Meanwhile, Bournemouth's pre-season has been inconsistent. They recorded a 3-0 victory over Everton in the Premier League Summer Series but suffered defeats against Manchester United (4-1) and West Ham United (2-0).
Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola faces the task of reshaping his defense following the departures of Milos Kerkez, Dean Huijsen, and Illia Zabarnyi. New additions include Adrien Truffert, goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic, and Bafode Diakite.
Diakite, who arrived for a reported £34.6m (€40m) on Wednesday, is set to feature against Liverpool. He expressed his enthusiasm about joining the club, saying, "I’m really happy to be here and I’m very excited to start with the team. I know the coach has great ideas which enables us to play well in the Premier League."
He further added, "Now I’m at the club, it’s a good opportunity to show how I can help the team going forward. I’m a defender who likes to have the ball and play with it, and I hope to show my qualities both with and without it. I will give everything for the team and I hope we will have some great moments together."
Players to Watch:
Liverpool – Mohamed Salah: Salah's consistent scoring record makes him a key player. He has a history of performing well on opening weekends and has a strong record against Bournemouth.
Bournemouth – Antoine Semenyo: Semenyo's impressive form last season makes him a threat to Liverpool's defense.
Match Prediction – Liverpool Win: Liverpool are expected to win, given their historical dominance over Bournemouth and their need to start the season strongly. However, their defensive issues and Bournemouth's potential to cause an upset make it an intriguing contest.
Opta Win Probability:
Liverpool – 69.4%
Draw – 16.9%
Bournemouth – 13.7%