Virgil van Dijk happy Arne Slot has changed Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool principals

Asked if he had made any rule changes at Liverpool earlier this week, Arne Slot struggled to think of anything. The only thing that is different, he said, was that he allows the players to sleep at home , rather than a hotel, the night before home fixtures.

"Maybe we've implemented one or two (rules), but I don't even know what they are," he told Sky Sports . "That culture was already here, so maybe the only one — I'm not sure it's a rule — but they used to go into hotels a lot the day before a game, and that's what we've changed, because I and my staff feel the best place to sleep is your own bed."

Ever since arriving at Anfield, Slot has been keen to downplay the differences between his style and Jurgen Klopp’s . It is logical, too: continuing to develop the successful work that came before certainly adds up.

There are changes, however, even beyond sleeping arrangements. Slot said himself when he first came in that he prefers his players to take fewer risks in the final third. Liverpool has already looked more controlled than last season in the first nine matches of this one and the shift in style, in theory at least, should help avoid injuries and burnout.

In all parts of the pitch, there is a more patient approach on show. Ryan Gravenberch has excelled as the No. 6 — a sliding doors moment for the 22-year-old after Martin Zubimendi rejected the chance to move to the Premier League — and those behind him are more involved in the build-up too.

Goalkeeper Alisson Becker has always been comfortable with the ball at his feet — even if he was critized by the former Manchester United shot stopper Peter Schmeichel this week, with the Dane suggesting he "struggles" with passing — and Virgil van Dijk has always had a large range of skills when it comes to that part of the game. Ibrahima Konate has improved in possession since arriving from RB Leipzig.

Each of that trio, though, has had to adjust so far under the Dutch head coach. Alisson detailed recently how he is more involved in the main part of training sessions, rather than the goalkeepers being separate, because of the expectation that he will be involved in the play. And Van Dijk opened up on the changes too.

"He asks a lot from me but I like that," Van Dijk told reporters including from Liverpool.com this week. "He knows I am very comfortable on the ball in the back, and I have different weapons in my opinion.

"Obviously I can play 60 or 70 yards passes but I am also comfortable breaking the lines and if you have players who can use that position then speed up, like we have, it obviously helps. It gives me the responsibility — it starts with me, Ali, Ibou — hopefully to create a good attack.

"Over the years, you play a certain way under Jurgen — very successful so you keep sticking to those principles. But certain things have changed including I have more responsibility in starting attacks and I'm enjoying it. It's something I can show as well and it's surprising, maybe, for people to see, but it was there."

So far, it is working. Van Dijk is comfortable on the ball and Alisson and Konate are proving to be as well. Gravenberch has taken to his new position as if he has played there all his life .

"I don't think our goalkeeper in the first eight games touched the ball as many times as he did today," Slot said live on TNT Sports this week after the Reds beat Bologna. "But he was the only player that was free because they played man v man, then we kept the ball better in the second half than we did in the first."

Bologna, in the way it set up, forced Liverpool to double down on its way of playing. Bigger tests are to come for Slot's side in in the coming weeks; the signs so far, though, point to the changes — however significant — seemingly working.