Liverpool head coach Arne Slot has wasted little time in putting his stamp on the squad. He might still be waiting for new players, but he has already introduced new rules, with a clear system of enforcement .
So far, change from the Jurgen Klopp era in terms of personnel has been kept to a minimum. Ryan Gravenberch has been an early beneficiary of Slot's reign, while the likes of Harvey Elliott and Darwin Nunez are having to show some patience, but the Dutchman has not ripped up what was already a pretty effective formula.
That means Trent Alexander-Arnold continues to play an important role (although he did not look best pleased when he was replaced by Conor Bradley around the 70-minute mark for the second game running). And the vice-captain has revealed that while Slot has resisted any sweeping changes, the players have been made aware that they must obey one rule if they want to remain in the team.
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That's not an empty threat at Liverpool, because competition for places is fierce. As well as Elliott and Nunez, the likes of Cody Gakpo and Curtis Jones are yet to get a start, and Slot has added Federico Chiesa to offer a genuine alternative to Mohamed Salah on the right flank.
So what do players have to do in order to keep their places? According to Alexander-Arnold, the new regime insists on defending as a collective, with players obliged to chase back and do their defensive duties.
"That's one of the rules that the manager brought in," Alexander-Arnold revealed to Liverpoolfc.com , when asked about the team's tracking back early in the season. "If you don't comply to those rules, you won't play – it's as simple as that.
"It's not just about defenders defending [and] the attackers just watch us defend. It's a whole team thing. I think the counter-attacks that we've potentially been exposed to, we're able to slow them down and get numbers behind, we're blocking shots and we're stopping them from creating anything dangerous. That's down to the work ethic and it's what's demanded.
"I think if you look at the teams that have been successful in the previous years – including ourselves – it's been of course we're a team that can play football and be really exciting at times, but it's the other end of the pitch that ultimately does win you the league. Normally the team that concedes the least amount of goals or the least amount of big chances will have a really good chance of winning the league."
Liverpool has kept back-to-back clean sheets in Slot's opening two Premier League games. Tougher tests are in store, though, and the Reds take on Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday.
Liverpool.com says: Defending as a collective is nothing especially new, with Klopp also putting emphasis on how defense started from the front. But where the German perhaps stressed the importance of the press in this regard, Slot is insisting on players putting the hard yards in and sprinting back.
And Alexander-Arnold is right: the sanction is clear for breaking this rule. Competition is too fierce for anyone to think they can get away with slacking.
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