KOP must watch! Slott reviewed the season in person: Thank you Oliver. The Derby lost points and won the championship at home

May 23: Liverpool won the Premier League championship four rounds ahead of schedule. After winning the championship, he accepted an exclusive interview with TA's Liverpool team reporter James Pierce. He revealed his first season at Liverpool by telling eight key games. The following is the article compiled:

The transition from the Jurgen Klopp era to Slot's coaching was smoother than anyone expected. The Dutch led the team to the club's 20th top league title, crushing their opponents with an unbeaten record of 26 league games.

Festivals have been in full swing since the last month of the championship, and the trophy ceremony after Sunday’s final home game against Crystal Palace, as well as a parade in the city on Monday, will bring the celebration to a climax.

In honor of this achievement, Slott was interviewed by The Athletic at the club’s Kirkby Training Base, discussing photos of eight key games or moments in his first year of coaching – the stories behind them, how these moments reveal his coaching methods, and how they helped the team to be so successful. Philadelphia Preseason

Slott and the team prepare for the preseason

Pearce: Arn, let's review the preseason tour in the United States last July. Many main players are absent due to the European Cup and the Copa America, and it is not easy to start. What was your focus in the first few weeks?

Slott: To be honest, I'm a little worried because a lot of players return to the team two weeks before the start of the season. It has been an ongoing discussion from the moment I knew I had to call the players to tell them the time of the holiday. For example, “If I do this, they only have two weeks of preparation.”

Now, after working in this league for a year, I'm sure giving most players three weeks off is the right choice. Before you start, you'll think, "Maybe only give two weeks so I can have one more week." But now looking back, after a season in this country, you can’t just give players two weeks off.

The upside is that in the United States, I mainly bring young players. I can already start instilling my philosophy, and I think they may like these training and philosophy because the game turns out well.

Pearce: In those friendly matches, the players seem to quickly adapt to your more patient and more controlled game style changes.

Slott: Yes, but I think the reason the club hired me is that there is not much difference in style between me and Jurgen. Our game style has many similarities, so it's not difficult to adjust some aspects. It would be much more difficult to change from one style to another. There are a lot of things that can stay the same, which allows me to focus on what needs to be implemented. That's why you can see something different very quickly.

But even after I coached for one season, the team's counterattack was still very fast. By the way, I've never trained this! So not everything has changed, but a few things we need to change can be adjusted quickly because there are many aspects that don’t require much attention.

The first victory over Ipswich

Slot's first Premier League match, away against Ipswich

Pierce: This is the first official game you coached. Are you nervous?

Slott: It's always nervous, but not because this is my first game in coaching Liverpool, but because it's the first game of the season. The first game of the season is always a little nervous because you never know your form. The same was true when I was at Feyenoord, and the same will be true in August this year.

We are going to Ipswich, and for them it's like the FA Cup final as they return to the Premier League years later. There were fireworks on site and everyone was ready. It was very hot that day and the game was early again. I have the normal tension of the first season, coupled with the uncertainty about the new league.

Pearce: You won 2-0, but after the game, many people discussed that you walked straight back to the locker room instead of going to the away stands to celebrate. Is this trying to let the relationship with the fans develop naturally?

Slott: Interestingly, if the players do something special, I hope they get praise. In the Netherlands, coaches don't usually always go to the away stands. I walked into the locker room that day and felt that the credit for victory belonged to the players. It was only after that that first time I heard: "This is not common in the UK." So after that I started going to the away stands.

But even now, you can see that I don't want to steal the limelight from the players. They worked hard for 90 minutes to achieve results. My previous club style was: "This is for you".

swept Old Trafford

Salah made 2 passes and 1 shot at Old Trafford

Pierce: Old Trafford in September. A 3-0 victory makes you the first Liverpool coach to win the first away game against Manchester United in 88 years. Does this feel like taking off?

Slott: Recently, a Dutch media asked me: "Which game has made you win the trust of the players?" I think it is this game because we have made some minor adjustments to the way we construct the offense.

I told the players that Manchester United would expect Sobosloy to be on the right and they would prepare for it for a week, but we let him play on the left and made some different adjustments. As I said, it happened.

Did we win the game because of this? no. We made two counter-attacks, maybe even three! But that day the players might think, “Oh, what he told us really works.” The 3-0 victory at Old Trafford made us believe that something special might be waiting for us.

Pierce: Salah assisted Dias twice in that game and scored the third goal himself. Salah has performed so well this season - 33 goals and 23 assists in various competitions, the standard is ridiculously high...

Slott: Yes, this standard may be difficult for him to maintain in the next two seasons. I hope he can, but it's not necessary. Even if he scores fewer goals and fewer assists, it will be an excellent season. But I know Mo (Salah), he will work hard to achieve more. He works very hard every day to do more special things for the club.

Brighton's reversal

Gakbo celebrates goals against Brighton

Pearce: November 2 feels like a big day of the season. Arsenal lost to Newcastle, Manchester City was defeated by Bournemouth, and Liverpool reversed Brighton 2-1 when he was trailing 0-1 in the first half. You've been leading the way since that day...

Slott: Brighton performed well in the first half and they made it very difficult for us. They spent a week preparing for the tactics and we could only adjust at halftime. After winning that game, I didn't think, "Oh, we're going to lead the league." I always felt that it would be a competition with Manchester City and Arsenal until the end of the season. But it was a big win because we were facing a team of Brighton in excellent form, who had just drew at Arsenal not long ago.

Pearce: Some players said they thought you would be angry at Brighton's first half domination in half, but you were calm and clearly explained the tactics that needed to be adjusted to turn things around.

Slott: I don't think it's useless to be angry at halftime in one season. You have to save these moments until the moments that really matter. Nine times, I will only get angry when I feel that the player is not trying his best. For example, when we were at home against Southampton (March), I was very angry! I might be a little angry at Ipswich's half.

There is no need to be angry with Brighton because the players work hard, but the opponent's tactics are beyond our expectations. This causes our oppression a little late. It is wiser to adjust your tactics than to get angry. This team usually works hard. I have the same attitude towards my children. If they don't work hard, I'll be harsh. But if they work hard, something goes wrong with school or something, I will never be harsh on them.

Nunes's inspiration came to an end

Slot embraced Nunes who beat Brentford: There was crazy celebration in January, with Darwin Nunes scoring twice in stoppage time.

Slott: That was a 90-minute setback. We have always been close to the goal, but we just can't score, although Brentford's counterattack is also very threatening. Let's replace Darwin and don't forget Arnold, the assister who scored the first goal. Darwin scored a few big goals, but Brentford's first was probably the most important thing for him and us.

There is another thing that you have seen many times this season that we keep changing to offensive players at the last moment when the game may be wrong. Elliott and Chiesa also played after Darwin. Harvey passed the ball to Trent in the organization of the first goal. We always strive to win.

Pearce: Darwin was a hero that day, but you often rotated him, Jota and Dias at the No. 9 this season. What is the consideration of having Dias play in the middle rather than the left?

Slotte: Diogo was injured for a long time. That was after the October game against Chelsea, which took him a long time to get back to his original level, so only one striker was available to Darwin. From November to March to intensive games, we can't use Darwin every game. We have to try other players. We tried Lucho (Dias) and he did a good job. Partly because of Diogo's injury, I had to find another option for the No. 9 position.

The intense Merseyside derby

Slott was suspended for being rude to Oliver: You must know that I will mention this! Goodison Park in February. Before that night, you basically controlled your emotions on the sidelines. What happened that night?

Slott: There are many unacceptable things in overtime. I'm usually calm, but that whole situation keeps me from calming down. Their fans were fanatical because that was the last derby on their stadium. There are a lot of things that shouldn't happen in overtime. But we are all humans and we all make mistakes.

We are talking about a foul on Mo, a foul on Konath, and the fourth official told me that there were only 60 seconds left, but after they were injured, he gave the ball to the opponent and we were in possession. This allowed them to make another long pass. They scored in 80 seconds. I feel like the referee is waiting for the moment when we kick the ball away. But he should blow the whistle in 60 seconds. That moment was a bit too much for me!

At that time, I felt that we had lost two very important points. Looking back now, we have to thank Michael Oliver, because (Everton) that tie allowed us to win the championship at home (versus Tottenham).

Sobosloy's exhaustion at Manchester City

Sobosloy was exhausted against Manchester City

Pearce: This photo perfectly summarizes your performance against Manchester City. They tried their best to protect the 2-0 lead established in the first half. This is the first time Liverpool won the league in Etihad Stadium in nearly a decade, and you only have 34% possession.

Slott: This shows that we have to work very hard, and it also shows that Manchester City is still very strong. If you can have so much ball possession against us, you are a very good team. Everyone felt that if we could win this game, we would be very, very close (winning the championship). The players tried their best. Mo almost played as a fullback in the second half!

The players deserved a lot of praise at that moment. They have high quality, but working so hard for such victory is what I like to see and what fans like. Watch that picture of Dominic exhausted – it says it all. Partly because of running, but also because of mental pressure, the mental exhaustion will also be mentally exhausted when facing attacks again and again.

Pearce: You unexpectedly didn't use the No. 9 position in that game, let Sobosloy and Curtis Jones play the No. 10 position. This seems to catch Manchester City off guard. If you were asked to choose a game where the tactical plan was perfectly executed, would it be this one?

Slott: No, I won't choose this game because we have too many defenses. I prefer our game plan with more possession. So one of the most exciting games for me was home against Paris Saint-Germain (Champions League 16, March). The week before we were completely suppressed by them in the first round. At Anfield, I wouldn't say that was a 180 degree transition, but it's totally different. This made that game very special, and it was possible to do something to completely reverse the game.

This is not only because of me, but also because of our fans, that incredible atmosphere. We always took the initiative and should have won the game, but we lost the penalty shootout. Maybe it's because we were so lucky in the first round in Paris. From a tactical perspective, I would look back at that game and think: "We did a good job."

Anfield's special moment

Liverpool defeated Tottenham Hotspur early in the home game

Pearce: Either this or the scene of your dancing!

Slott: Yes, I definitely like this one more!

Pearce: Looking back on the day you won the Premier League championship, what did you think of? I was very excited that day. Many people say that it was their best day in Anfield.

Slott: This is probably the thing I am most proud of. It is probably the highest achievement to hear people who have worked for clubs for many years or have been fans for so many years saying that after so many successes of clubs, they can still do something special to them than anything else. This moved me, even if I was a calm and composed person.

Pearce: What would it be if you were asked to choose the most favorite moment of that day?

Slott: It should be when we arrived at the stadium by bus, the fans sang: "Now you have to believe us, we have to win the league." Every time I think of this, I feel a little moved. Another moment was when they started playing Freed From Desire after the game. I looked around and everyone enjoyed it. That kind of joy. I don't know who DJ is, but he should be praised for choosing this song. That's very special, too.

Pearce: Is this extraordinary in my first year of coaching? Does this make you look forward to the future?

Slott: Yes, because these moments are the reasons why we strive to be better every day. Once you've gone through a moment like this, you'll think, "It'll be nice to do it again because I forgot to enjoy this or that moment". The

Trophy Awards and Parades are very special. Then we go on vacation, and maybe everyone will think: "I want to experience it one, two, three more times."