2. Szoboszlai and Gravenberch convince in alternative midfield set up
Slot has plenty of options for how he wants to set Liverpool’s midfield up. Last season, Klopp utilized either Alexis MacAllister or Wataru Endo as the lone holding midfielder with the likes of Cutis Jones, Harvey Eliot, Dominick Szoboszlai, Ryan Gravenberch and if Endo was playing, MacAllister in more advanced positions.
Against Ipswich, Slot experimented with the double pivot of MacAllister and Ryan Gravenberch and Szoboszlai as an attacking midfielder in a 4-2-3-1, a departure from Jurgen Klopp’s usual 4-3-3. This looked to benefit Gravenberch and Szoboszlai, who both underwhelmed in the latter half of the last campaign but were far more involved in their side’s play in Saturday’s opener.
Gravenberch’s pressing and progressive passes were both factors in Liverpool’s ability to seize authority in the second half, while Szoboszlai looked far more confident playing slightly further forward and helped to set Salah up for his second. That Slot never felt the need to even bring Jones, Endo or Eliot on speaks to how effective both Szoboszlai and Gravenberch were in their slightly modified positions this season.
Most Liverpool supporters are understandably disappointed with their side’s total lack of transfer activities this summer. The failure to sign an additional holding midfielder is particularly frustrating as Endo is the only senior player in the squad who is natural to the position. However, if the double-pivot midfield continues to work as well as it did on Saturday, Liverpool’s midfield might already have everything it needs.
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