Beat Real Madrid to break Manchester City's double leaderboard, what did this Dutch bald head do to Liverpool?

The reporter reported coldly After Manchester City lost 0-2 to Liverpool, Guardiola's "6 fingers" in response to Liverpool fans' "singing after class" became a hot topic in the British media, just like Mourinho's "respect three times". Slot, another bald manager on the pitch, who is expected to become the Reds manager who will lead Liverpool to the English top flight title in his debut season since Dalglish (1985/86), continues to make a fortune. The Premier League is unbeatable, and the Champions League is leading the way, how did the newcomer Dutchman do it?

Liverpool are as many as nine points ahead of second-placed Arsenal in 13 rounds, and the previous five teams in Premier League history have won the title by at least six points in the 13th round, most recently in 2019/20 under Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool (eight points ahead). Liverpool are top of the table (1.57) at the top of the Premier League (1.57), followed by Arsenal (3.75) and Manchester City (9) have been thrown out of the first tier. Opta's odds of winning the title have risen to 85.1 per cent for Liverpool from 80.4 per cent before the tournament, while Manchester City have plummeted from 9.5 per cent to 4.4 per cent.

Topping both the Champions League and Premier League tables, the best record in a manager's first 13 games in Premier League history (34 points, goal difference of 18), Slote surpassed Guus Hius (2008/09, 34 points, goal difference of 15) and Graeery (1997/98-1998/99, 34 points, goal difference of 13). With only one new signing in Chiesa Jr. and six players lost to the first team this summer, how did Slot get Liverpool, who are worse on paper than last season, to play their best start to the Premier League? The Dutch coaches' "happy training" method and more "chicken soup" sessions to boost players' confidence, plus the transformation of key players based on big data analysis, are the "secrets" of the Dutch.

Slot's "Happy Training" is deceptively simple but revolutionary: always keep training engaging and varied, and freshness is more intriguing to the players: "If I find that they like certain trainings, I don't do them every day, because it's turning the freshness into a monotonous boring." I wait until the players are really tired before I start doing a training session that the players will enjoy. "In addition to the daily training, Slot pays special attention to the mental state of the players. He has a team-wide meeting every day during training and focuses more on boosting the confidence of the players: "Giving the players confidence is one of the main things to consider, and I believe that there should be more discussion about the team's own strengths rather than focusing too much on the quality of the opponents. ”

Happy Training + "Chicken Soup" regular meetings, Slot's aim is to create an environment where players are eager to train and boost their self-confidence: "It's so that they can feel happy in training and learn something. Even in tactical analysis meetings, he prioritizes how teams can exploit their opponents' weaknesses rather than overemphasizing defense and creating a strong "sense of fear" for opponents. There were significantly more tactical analysis meetings than last season, with tactical analysis sessions on the morning of home games, rather than having players rest in hotels, as was the case in the Klopp era.

Slot's "one-on-one coaching" based on big data analysis is the key to the rebound of some of Liverpool's main players. Alexander-Arnold revealed that Slot had analysed his defensive issues with him one-on-one, but more of a positive suggestion for change: "Slot had 50 video clips of my game and he kept correcting my defensive movements and awareness. Every player loves him. Centre-back Konate can focus on zone defence while being given set-piece 'special training' to improve his ability to win the first point and how to make the most of his speed on counter-attacks.

Slot's assistant coach Heitinga has a lot of Premier League experience as a player, and he spent another eight months as an assistant at West Ham United. After joining the coaching staff, he helped his compatriot Hrafenberg rebuild his confidence on a number one basis, fixing him in the No.6 position, making it clear that his tactical role is to balance the attack and defense in midfield, especially through quick and targeted passing. For Szoboszlai in the No. 8 position, Slote gave more psychological encouragement to restore the Hungarian captain's self-confidence. Clearly, the realignment of the tactical responsibilities of the central midfield is key to the rejuvenation of these players who fell into a slump last season.

As a perfectionist with attention to detail, Slote places great importance on how to use a lot of video analysis to make the players understand the specific tactical moves and tactical awareness. He asked his players to be calm, control and ready to pick up the tempo at all times, a far cry from the nervousness and passion of the German coaches of the Klopp era. Slot also knows how to protect his players, and when the game doesn't go as planned, he will first look for the reasons for himself after the game and then explain to the players what needs to be improved.

Of course, the early season advantage played a role in Slot's quick efforts to earn the trust of players and fans. Slot himself is also very calm, stressing that the team should not get carried away with winning one or two strong teams. The real consideration is winter and next spring, and how to deal with the wave of injuries that may be brought about by the players' fitness limits at that time will be the real test for Slot.