After finishing third in the Premier League in 2023-24, many fans were convinced Liverpool needed to sign a defensive midfielder to bolster their squad.
In 2024-25, Arne Slot transformed his Liverpool midfield by tweaking certain players roles, instilling his own set of principles and leading the Reds to their 20th Premier League title win.
Jurgen Klopp’s side averaged 61.3% possession in the 2023-24 season while Slot’s side averaged just 57.9% possession. This is despite having a higher passing accuracy in the 2024-25 season, going from 85.8% to 86.3%.
So what changes did Slot make to his midfield configuration to turn his side from third-placed finishers to Premier League winners?
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The use of Ryan Gravenberch
The biggest change with Slot’s midfield in comparison to Klopp’s was the usage of Ryan Gravenberch, who only managed 1,121 minutes in the 23-24 Premier League campaign.
Under Slot, the 23-year-old Dutch midfielder managed nearly triple the amount of minutes, with 3,168 played in the 24-25 league campaign.
Rather than playing as a more advanced box-to-box No.8, Gravenberch was trusted in a lone No.6 role under Slot. He dropped deep to progress play and protect the defensive unit in transition — which can be seen by the passing and movement maps above, the left representing 23-24 and the right representing 24-25.
This change saw a dramatic drop off in a number of metrics for Gravenberch, going from 3.1 progressive carries per 90 minutes and 6.27 progressive passes per 90 in the 23-24 season, to 1.99 progressive carries per 90 and 5.16 progressive passes per 90 in the 24-25 season.
However, the Dutch midfielder averaged more passes into the final third per 90, going from 2.78 to 4.30 per 90 and averaged more tackles and interceptions per 90, from 3.17 to 3.68.
Slot decided to hone in on certain attributes Gravenberch possesses including his frame, ability to cover ground and press resistance in deep areas, which has attributed to his best season since leaving Ajax back in 2022.
Alexis Mac Allister’s role
Next up is Alexis Mac Allister, who averaged the most minutes of any midfielder under Klopp in the 23-24 season with 2,609 Premier League minutes played.
Under Slot it was no different. Although Gravenberch had the most minutes, Mac Allister was still a key cog in their midfield unit, playing 2,607 minutes in the Premier League winning campaign.
The Argentinian midfielder played a similar role for both Klopp and Slot, having more of a roaming role to get on the ball, connect play and then counter press when the ball is lost.
However, we did see a dramatic drop off in similar metrics for Mac Allister as Gravenberch. He went from 1.99 progressive carries per 90 and 7.23 progressive passes per 90 in the 23-24 season, to 1.52 progressive carries per 90 and 6.12 progressive passes per 90 in the 24-25 campaign.
Mac Allister did improve in certain metrics such as progressive passes received going from 1.66 to 2.77. This shows the impact of Gravenberch’s deeper progressive role, allowing Mac Allister to stay higher at times and receive between the lines.
This left the Argentine nicely placed in the half spaces if the ball was lost, allowing him to counter press effectively and keep those defensive numbers high, making 3.29 tackles per 90 and 5.12 ball recoveries per 90.
These defensive actions were even more important as Slot made the decision to use Wataru Endo more sparingly than Klopp, meaning his 2.51 tackles per 90 and 4.67 ball recoveries per 90 would be missing at the base of midfield.
The shift of Dominik Szoboszlai
Lastly, Dominik Szoboszlai, who played a total of 2,109 minutes under Klopp during the 23-24 Premier League campaign, often starting as one of the advanced number eights in a 4-3-3.
Under Slot, the 24-year-old Hungary international played 2,496 minutes in their title winning campaign, starting as more of a No.10.
Playing in this slightly more advanced role didn’t have a huge impact on his on ball responsibilities, still looking to drop in and connect play, receive between the lines and effect the game in all phases.
The main change was Szoboszlai’s out of possession responsibilities, pressing alongside the striker in a 4-2-4 pressing scheme.
As is the theme, we did see a dramatic drop off in similar metrics for Szoboszlai as Mac Allister and Gravenberch, going from 3.21 progressive carries per 90 and 6.50 progressive passes per 90 in the 23-24 season, to 2.60 progressive carries per 90 and 4.73 progressive passes per 90 in the 24-25 season.
The more advanced role did see Szoboszlai’s xG rise from 0.16 to 0.26 per 90, his xAG rise from 0.25 to 0.27 per 90 and his overall output increase from 0.21 G+A per 90 to 0.43 G+A per 90.
A new change coming?
But Slot’s midfield configuration could change yet again in 2025-26, with the additions of Florian Wirtz, Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez.
Last season, Liverpool would often build up with their back four in tact slightly deeper and more narrow, with Gravenberch acting as a lone pivot.
However, with the additions of two highly attacking full-backs, who prefer to operate in the final third, Slot could tweak his midfield tactics once more.
This could see Gravenberch dropping between the central defenders to create the base back three, with both Mac Allister and Szoboszlai dropping to form the midfield two in a 3-2 base shape.
Both full-backs would then play more advanced, either operating in the half spaces between the lines or providing width and allowing the wingers to drift infield.
These tweaks would likely see the progressive numbers of the midfielders rise once more with both carries and passes, as their responsibilities would shift from receiving between the lines, to dictating play from deeper zones.
Slot clearly now has the tools to adjust his Liverpool tactics as he desires, with the club already spending £184.3m before the start of pre-season.
This could make Liverpool one of the main teams to watch next season, as we try to discover what the Dutch coach has in store for us.