How Liverpool failed this fundamental Arne Slot principle vs. Crystal Palace

Liverpool’s first defeat of the season saw Crystal Palace make the most of the chances they were afforded, but Arne Slot‘s non-negotiable for his side was notably missing.

With the help of our partners at FotMob, we look at Liverpool’s failure to win the physical battle against Crystal Palace.

Liverpool have heavily relied on late winners to start the season with seven consecutive wins, but got a taste of their own medicine at Selhurst Park in their first defeat of the campaign.

It came after several starters had a week off between games, but despite dominating possession, it was Palace who had the most expected goals, shots on target and big chances created.

Slot’s use of a box midfield in a 4-2-2-2 formation in the first half was a failed experiment, and it was no surprise to see an improvement when he reverted to a familiar setup in the second.

Liverpool fail to win their duels

The emphasis on winning duels has not been as public as when Slot first arrived, but it remains a non-negotiable for the Dutchman – and he won’t enjoy FotMob‘s ground duel breakdown in particular.

Liverpool lost the duel count 48-45, but they were comprehensively beaten on the ground, with Palace coming out on top 36-23 as they asserted themselves on the contest.

Five starters lost more duels than they won, with Mohamed Salah (14.28%), Alexander Isak (33.3%), Milos Kerkez (33.3%), Dominik Szoboszlai (37.5%), and Florian Wirtz (42.85%) all struggling.

It was the same for substitutes Rio Ngumoha (33.3%), Jeremie Frimpong (20%), Federico Chiesa (0%) and Curtis Jones (0%).

Salah lost the most duels of any Liverpool player having been unsuccessful in six of the seven he contested, losing five on the ground and one in the air – symbolic of the day he had.

Ryan Gravenberch, conversely, was the only Red to win every duel he contested, winning all seven (six on the ground and one in the air) – the second-most of any player on the pitch.

Reverting the system led to improvement

Slot tried to do something different in the first half but saw his side hand the impetus to the Eagles, who had 10 shots, created four big chances and an xG of 2.07.

The Dutchman’s attempt to overload the midfield was let down by a lack of pressure on the ball, with Liverpool losing the duel count 23-14 (18-6 in ground duels) in the first half.

Adding width back into the side and reverting to a more familiar set-up had an almost instant improvement in the second 45, and the Reds went on to win more duels as a result (25-31).

Subsequently, their successful pressure on the ball and their opposition created 14 shots, five big chances and an xG of 1.75 – more than enough to turn the result in their favour.

Ultimately, Slot is left to rue his first-half experiment and his side’s inability to live up to one of his fundamental principles across the entire 90 minutes.

* FotMob is an essential app for every fan to keep up to date with their team or follow football worldwide, with endless stats and features that offer all you could ever want and never knew you needed!

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