How Arne Slot uses substitutes at Liverpool – from 'closers' to 'human shields'

Liverpool are top of the Premier League and Champions League with a set of metrics that the rest of Europe can only dream of.

Arne Slot has struck on an enviable blend of defence and attack in his starting line-ups, but there’s another set of numbers that help explain how Liverpool have made such a flying start to the new campaign.

Out of the 70 substitutions Liverpool have made in the Premier League, Champions League and Carabao Cup this season (only Aston Villa, with 75, have made more), 57 have been made from a winning position; remarkably, all 57 of those substitutes have gone on to finish on the winning side.

It underlines how effective Slot’s replacements have been as ‘closers’, helping finish matches and ensuring that Liverpool have dropped points just twice this season — in the home defeat by Nottingham Forest in September and in the draw with Arsenal 11 days ago.

Alongside Newcastle United, Liverpool are the only team in the Premier League not to drop a point from a winning position this season but, unlike Eddie Howe’s side — who are 10th on 15 points and have only been in the lead in four games — Liverpool have done it across eight Premier League games and 14 in all competitions.

So how does Slot use his substitutes, and what impact do they have on how his team operates?

Defensive subs are key

What’s most impressive, and in some ways surprising, is the amount of defensive changes Slot has made and how those introduced late in the game have played a part in either holding on to a winning position or improving it.

These are the substitutes he has has made across all competitions this season, with defenders or defensive midfielders highlighted in red (Curtis Jones came on in a mix of positions):

Slot’s approach is carefully choreographed: take the very clear tactic to substitute both starting full-backs around the 80-minute mark in the last three Champions League games, which has freshened up areas of the pitch that are often the most exposed as games become more stretched.

Certain players have emerged as ‘super subs’ — albeit quiet ones, impressing more for how they work tactically than scoring decisive goals. Joe Gomez is a good example. The versatile defender, who attracted interest from Newcastle United in the last transfer window, came on for the closing stages of the Premier League wins over Wolverhampton Wanderers and Chelsea, as well as at AC Milan and Leipzig.

Slot typically turns to Gomez at right-back (although he has also featured at centre-back and left-back) and has not been afraid to take off Trent Alexander-Arnold, one of the top players in the team, to keep his focus on the bigger picture. Conor Bradley, when fit, has also proved a useful option off the bench.

Another player with a growing influence, albeit only in small periods, is Wataru Endo. The 31-year-old defensive midfielder has become a stoppage-time specialist, deployed as a human shield for Liverpool’s back line. Introduced in the 89th minute in games against Brentford and Crystal Palace, and in the 91st against Arsenal, he helped close out important results. In the win over Brighton, he was needed slightly earlier than usual and played for 13 minutes plus stoppage time as he helped Liverpool hold on to another lead.

“Slot has very specific criteria for his substitutes to come on and close the game out,” Sammy Lander, the first-ever substitutes coach who works as a consultant with a number of clubs, tells The Athletic. “I call those players ‘closers’. His decision to change defenders so often is also to help assume some control. He relies so heavily on the build-up phase that he needs his defenders to be able to do exactly what is required at all times.”

Of the 42 substitutions Liverpool have made in the Premier League this season, 19 of those (including Endo) have been defensive-minded. Admittedly some have been forced through injury, but most are part of a wider game plan created by Slot to help his team over the line.

Slot’s substitutions in recent weeks have also helped the team through difficult games where they fell behind on three occasions — twice at Arsenal and then against Brighton. Liverpool recovered more points from losing positions (28) than any other team last season and they’ve shown similar grit in recent weeks when their first-half performances have been a little flat.

But whereas last season’s performances often bordered on the chaotic — which was entertaining but ultimately unsustainable — this season has been more about control, with a greater emphasis on game-management, that so far has been executed almost faultlessly. Liverpool are yet to concede a goal after the 72nd minute in the Premier League or Champions League, proof of their stamina but also their organisation.

Injury prevention

When he interviewed for the Liverpool job, Slot did not have to explain how he wanted his team to play because Richard Hughes, the club’s sporting director, had already studied his work so deeply. He knew exactly what to expect.

What Hughes and the rest of the Liverpool hierarchy liked so much about Slot, alongside his playing style, was how he had a specific aim of reducing injuries. Through detailed planning with Ruben Peeters, his head of physical performance who also moved from Feyenoord, Slot places a high level of trust in the reports he produces around the state of each player’s physical condition.

It is why substitutions are often planned in advance, rather than simply reacting to a moment in the game. The coaching team know how hard to push each individual at various points throughout a season without overloading their bodies, so rotation is taken in consideration — sometimes weeks ahead of games.

Mo Salah, for example, has been substituted four times in his 14 starts across the Premier League and Champions League, a sign that every player — not matter how talented or important to the team — is working to a specific plan.

Salah, who impressed the coaching staff with his fitness levels when he returned earlier than most this summer, is one of the players who benefited from a full, uninterrupted pre-season, yet managing his minutes is still key.

On the back of a summer that included the European Championship and Copa America — where Liverpool had plenty of players in action — the opening months of this campaign were always going to be a test, especially with international breaks in September, October and November.

Alexander-Arnold, one of four players to have started every Premier League and Champions League game for Liverpool, has also played five 90-minute games for England since the start of the season and those additional minutes all play into the equation around substitutions. The right-back has not always been thrilled at being taken off this season — notably after coming off in the win over Brentford — but should ultimately feel the benefit.

The position rotated most is left-back, with Kostas Tsimikas now pushing Andy Robertson harder than ever for a starting spot. Slot denied this was a selection “dilemma” for him last week, pointing out that Robertson had returned from the Euros with an injury that led to a curtailed pre-season. As he put it to reporters, “If a player has missed pre-season he can’t play three games in a row.”

Freshening up the full-backs in the closing stages of games is Slot’s most-used substitution. Either the starting right-back or left-back — or both — have been taken off in eight of the 10 Premier League games because the physical demands on the full-backs to join in with the attacks and remain defensively disciplined, often against the most skilful players on the opposition team, places a pressure on the players that is difficult to sustain.

Slot hasn’t had it easy at Liverpool, with first-choice goalkeeper, Alisson, and top forward, Diogo Jota, both sustaining injuries that have ruled them out of big games. The only ever-present player so far is his captain, Virgil van Dijk, who has taken his game to a new level — particularly with his contributions in the build-up phase.

Problem-solving

The amount of attacking substitutions Slot has made is also high, even if the man himself has been keen to play down the impact of those changes.

Last weekend, the introduction of Jones and Dominik Szoboszlai when Liverpool were behind against Brighton appeared to make a difference but Slot instead pointed to the performance of the entire team. On this occasion it was the collective running of the players that he felt sparked the turnaround as figures showed more sprints and intensive runs in the second half compared with the first.

At other times, however, his replacements are carefully targeted to deal with a specific problem. On the opening day of the season he recognised that Ipswich forward Liam Delap was winning more duels than his starting defender, Jarell Quansah, so without hesitation he introduced Ibrahima Konate at half-time and has stuck by him since.

”We don’t have to talk about tactics if you lose so many duels,” he said after the game. “And that’s what we did. Not that Jarell lost every duel — many of us lost too many duels — but I think we needed Konate to win these long balls through the air for the No 9. That gave us control.”

It was an early indication of Slot’s tactical acumen — a feeling that has only grown ever since.

(Top photo: Alex Livesey/Getty Images)