'You can see why' - National media make Liverpool transfer point as subtle Arne Slot gesture made

The Arne Slot effect goes on. The new Liverpool head coach continued the winning start to his reign with his first competitive match in charge at Anfield ending in a 2-0 victory over Brentford on Sunday afternoon.

Luis Diaz opened the scoring early on and Mohamed Salah netted in the second half as the Reds kept pace with the early pace-setters in the Premier League table.

It made for a memorable afternoon at Anfield. And here's how the national media, and the ECHO's own Paul Gorst, viewed another encouraging day for Slot's side.

Paul Joyce of The Times and formerly of this parish highlighted how Liverpool's style is already beginning to change under Slot.

"The idea, now, is to play an extra pass, rather than go straight for a difficult ball, and to weigh up the balance between risk and reward," he scribes. "When Jota attempted a shot that was blocked in the second half, Slot immediately gestured with an outstretched hand that the Portugal forward should have looked to find the team-mate overlapping to his left.

"Yet a pass completion rate of 92% — the home team’s highest in a league game since Opta began recording the data in 2003-04 — indicated that the coach’s methods are taking hold even if, in the first half especially, the control he craves seemed to be lacking.

"That is understandable, but Slot can head into next weekend’s trip to Old Trafford with two victories out of two providing a platform from which to build. There has been so much focus on why Liverpool have not signed a player this summer that it has been overlooked that part of Slot’s remit is to improve the squad he inherited."

Writing in The Telegraph, Jason Burt pointed to the impact of Diaz after a summer of speculation surrounding his time at Anfield.

"Diaz’s future is surely certain, for now, and with a contract that runs until 2027," he pens. "But his reputation is growing and deserving of reward and it was summed up in the exhilarating way he took his goal.

"It was just 13 seconds from Brentford taking a corner to Diaz finding the net. Ibrahima Konate headed clear, Salah won a challenge with Vitaly Janelt on the edge of the Liverpool penalty area and Diogo Jota sprinted from his own half, sliding a pass through to Diaz who had made a clever diagonal run between the two covering defenders.

"It was the angle of the forward’s movement that made the goal as he then took the ball on at high speed with two touches before driving it high into the goal. No way was he going to be caught. On the bench there were ‘high fives’ from Slot and his delighted coaching staff."

Ian Ladyman of the Daily Mail believes a winning start is important for Slot for more reasons than usual.

"With fifteen minutes left, and with Liverpool having secured the second goal required to seal this game, Anfield started to sing the name of Arne Slot for the first time," he says. "It was only a flicker and it died out pretty quickly. Almost like a passing whisper in a corridor. But it was there just the same and it felt significant. Two games in and a new Liverpool manager is making sound progress at the start of what may transpire to be quite a testing journey.

"It will be a while before they stop talking about the other bloke here. It’s not just Jurgen Klopp’s shadow that continues to hang over Liverpool. His fingerprints are everywhere. Liverpool are the only club in Europe’s top seven leagues not to buy a new player this summer. So Slot has almost nothing that he can yet call his own.

"Which is why consecutive Premier League wins will feel so important. Liverpool’s new manager can put his name firmly next to victories over Ipswich and Brentford and for now that will feel like enough."

John Cross of the Daily Mirror popped up to Anfield and saw what he believes could be an issue for Slot this season.

"The midfield definitely looks a work in progress because Alexis Mac Allister, Ryan Gravenberch and Dominik Szoboszlai are all good ball players but they may need more bite against bigger teams," he opines.

"All three played well - particularly Gravenberch while Szoboszlai worked hard - but you can see why they were chasing a more traditional number six this summer.

"Slot’s style is definitely a long way from Klopp’s heavy metal football but it is more subtle, attractive and their passing was exceptional. Liverpool had 19 shots with eight on target but did not score more because of some wayward finishing but more thanks to Brentford’s heroic defending and some fine saves from keeper Mark Flekken.‌"

Finally, Paul Gorst of the ECHO has pointed to the impact of the Anfield crowd and why that perhaps won't be as required so regularly for now.

"Events at Old Trafford will give us a better indication as to where the Reds are really up to under their new coaching team but the early omens are encouraging," he says. "To a man, the squad look fit, fresh and in-form.

"While there were few genuine grumbles about what was served up under Jurgen Klopp during a transformational period for the club across nine years, there was a school of thought in the closing months that the wave of emotion that was so often ridden to glorious effect had just started to pull the team and its fans under.

"Under Slot, though, it seems like all of that is all being stripped back for now. There are no theatrics or bombastic gestures from the new man and he is very much plotting his own path towards what is hoped will be a hugely successful tenure over the coming years. Anfield and its reputation as the '12th man' will only be used sparingly on this evidence and that is no bad thing when the view is taken with a wider lens."