Slot hits reset at Liverpool but revival risks stalling without evolution beyond Klopp’s old guard

Arne Slot finally hit the reset button, ending a bruising four-game losing streak in the league and a meltdown in confidence with Saturday’s home win over Aston Villa. With striker Hugo Ekitike the only new signing starting, Slot seemed to rediscover the balance at the champions by going back to basics.

In so doing, the Liverpool manager is merely kicking the can down the road, with the problem still being: how do you evolve a squad under pressure to play the new stars when the only reliable source of rhythm is the old guard?

That would make sense, with muscle memory from the Jürgen Klopp era, but a transition that once seemed so smooth is looking anything but at the moment.

It was noticeable that Florian Wirtz again struggled to make an impact in his brief cameo, while record signing Alexander Isak is also yet to fire. Defensive reinforcement Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong have also proven poor substitutes for Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson, who did a fine job at left-back after replacing the erratic Kerkez in the starting line-up.

Mo Salah also looked a player reborn, his sharp finish for the opening goal proof that confidence is returning, while Alexis Mac Allister shook off the lethargy of recent displays alongside the returning Ryan Gravenberch. Dominik Szoboszlai, arguably Liverpool’s best player by far this season, was revelling in the freedom of the No 10 role and brought balance to the Reds’ midfield that Wirtz has been unable to do.

Can Slot afford to leave over £300m (about R6.82 billion) of talent on the bench for much longer, with boardroom pressure apparently mounting to start the big-money acquisitions more regularly?

His dilemma is whether to play them early and risk disrupting the rhythm of the team, or stick to his trusted core and restrict them to cameos once the job is done.

The Liverpool manager is caught between a rock and a hard place, and Saturday’s result may yet prove to be a moment of relief, not a revival. Especially in the midst of a tough run of fixtures that includes Wednesday’s visit of rampant Real Madrid in the Champions League, and the weekend’s league game away against Manchester City.

But the ball-playing nature of their next two opponents could play into Slot’s hands, like Villa’s tactics did on Saturday. Liverpool have struggled of late against teams with a more direct style of play, especially those employing long balls and counter-attacks.

Yet, Villa chose to play through the lines instead of bypassing them, and the Reds coped far more comfortably.

While Saturday’s result may be more of a pause than a turning point in their season, it may be a necessary backward step before moving forward. The challenge for Slot now is maintaining results while continuing the delicate process of creating Liverpool 2.0.

The reset worked because he trusted the old rhythm – it led him to last season’s title, after all. The next step must be building a new one, without losing the essence of what still worked for the Merseyside giants – making a Liverpool side that feels new without forgetting what made it strong.

The hardest part of a reset isn’t pushing the button, it’s knowing what to keep and what to discard.