New Liverpool manager Arne Slot's elegant style brings excitement, but is it sustainable in Premier League?

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. -- As Liverpool looks to establish themselves under new manager Arne Slot, it's a departure from Jurgen Klopp's heavy metal football to a more balanced style that's preferred by the Dutchman. Having significant experience from leading a strong Feyenoord side in Champions League play, Slot has the match experience needed to succeed, but as he'll quickly see with Liverpool, performing in the Premier League is a different animal.

Klopp left the Reds in a great position roster-wise after his departure with a good mix of stars and ready-to-contribute youth players. The midfield is in good hands with Curtis Jones, Alexis Mac Allister, and Harvey Elliott while Mohamed Salah's presence makes everyone's lives easier. Under Slot, having that base will go a long way but like any manager, he'll want to establish his own style. 

When asked to describe Slot's soccer in one word, Elliott's choice was "elegant."

In Liverpool's opening goal in a friendly against Arsenal on Wednesday, that elegance could be seen on a clinical counterattack. The ball started with Caoimhin Kelleher in the net before he played it long to Salah. Elliott was already in place for Salah to head the ball back to him and then quickly played a one-two pass to set Salah up for a finish that should be hard for a forward, but Salah makes everything look easy.

That goal is a wonderful welcome-to-Slot moment. While he'd like his teams to maintain more possession, when they can't they'll just play the ball over you and still get the job done. It takes technical midfielders who are good at decision-making to accomplish this but Liverpool have those in spades. Elliott showed that he doesn't need to keep the ball on the ground to make the impossible happen as he unleashed an audacious chip to set up Fábio Carvalho for Liverpool's second goal of the first half. 

Talking about Elliott's performance following the match Slot was quick to make sure that the team aspect was also pointed out.

"It's a great assist but what I believe is that the team created these assists for him as well. Playing out of the back, getting him into the right positions or another a number of times, and then it's up to him to bring the most out of those situations," Slot said. "He did that today with two assists. If I'm a bit hard on him, I think there were two or three other situations where he could've done better."

Of course, it wasn't all good for the Reds as they had numerous breakdowns where trying to be too precise led to turnovers. If it wasn't preseason, they would've been of larger concern. Those growing pains are normal for a new manager taking over but with a full preseason under his belt with players who weren't involved in international tournaments, Slot does have time on his side to prepare for a grueling Premier League season. 

"He's got a very good team, a base from many years working of course. Slowly he will put his stamp because you know he plays a different style of game but he will take a lot of positives from [Feyenoord] to bring to his team and a lot of things that players used to do, they will keep doing that even playing a different style of game," former Liverpool midfielder Lucas Leiva said to CBS Sports. "I think he has the experience to understand that and use the strength of the players. In preseason now, it's time to get fitness, to put an idea of the style of game, the formation but also to see a lot of young players and I think he's doing that in these games."

Having been in midfield during the transition to Klopp at Liverpool, Levia is well aware of the demands put on teams when managerial changes happen and those will only be accentuated when moving from a club legend like Klopp to Slot. Athletes are creatures of habit and change to a routine can be jarring but that's where it's good for Slot that there is an overlap between what he wants from the team compared to what Klopp expected. The pressing is less relentless and the passes have less room for error.

Getting this right in preseason is one thing but when Ipswich Town are pressing the Reds in a rocking Portman Road to kick off the Premier League season, that's when it all becomes real. By then, Slot will have players like Darwin Nunez, Cody Gakpo, and Mac Allister back for selection but that also will provide more questions about what his best XI is as he manages rotation.

Taking part in the Champions League and being expected to bring home silverware while comPeting for the league title, expectations couldn't be higher for the Dutchman. He'll need to wade through that pressure to establish his Game while also making sure to adjust when it's not working in a high-pressure job. It's one of those things that you don't know if someone can do on the job until they've done it, but the early returns from Slot are positive.

Feyenoord weren't world beaters when he took them over and he was able to lead them to become Champions League participants and Eredivisie title winners in the 2022-23 season. The improvement that he instilled in the club is clear and with last season ending in disappointment for the Reds, he'll be expected to help them take the next step as well. It will take more than coaching to catch Manchester City atop the Premier League, but if his consistency carries over to Anfield, they'll have a heck of a shot with Slot.