Liverpool have regularly come out of halftime breaks with a new impetus and Trent Alexander-Arnold has explained why Arne Slot‘s methods are effective.

Under Slot, the Reds have proven to be a more assured side in the second half of games, scoring 34 of their 54 goals this season after the interval.

It is evident that the Liverpool boss makes tactical tweaks and sends a clear message at the break, with his choice of substitutions also having proven game-changing.

In a chat with Men In Blazers, Alexander-Arnold has explained what Slot is like in the dressing room during the half-time break and the effectiveness of his messages.

“His personality is very chilled,” Liverpool’s vice-captain said of his head coach. “The best way to describe it is that things are black and white.

“They are what they are. There’s not too much emotion that goes into things.

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“At halftime, he’ll come in and tell us exactly, very clearly, how the opposition are playing, how they’re pressing us and the adjustments we need to make.

“Then it’s kind of ‘just do that and we will win’. That’s literally the message, ‘If we do this in the second half we are going to win the game because this is how we break them down’.”

Slot and his coaches have an incredible eye for detail and are readily making tweaks during games, which is lending itself to an impressive start to the season with 20 wins from 24 games.

Speaking on the subject of second-half performances after the win at Girona, Slot conversely suggested it is his side’s intensity rather than just his message that is the difference.

“It could also be, in a normal game that the tempo is so high, that especially in the second half, the team we face has some problems with that intensity,” he said.

“I don’t exactly know what it is, but it might be a bit of us preparing the team even better in the second half than the first half, but also how fit our players are to score in the second half.”

Speaking further on Slot and what is different this season, Alexander-Arnold said: “I think we’re so assured that we’re going to get results in games, I think because we believe so much in the game plan.

“I think it’s always important, especially under a new manager, to have a relationship that works both ways – which is what we’ve got.

“He needs to believe in us that we’re good enough to carry out the game plan and go get the results, and understand and apply what he tells us to do.

“Likewise as players, we need to see that the style of play and tactics are working and will get us results. I think from the first few games we really got that.

“From then on, when you’ve got the belief flowing both ways it’s always going to be a good journey.”

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Dominic Solanke says the Tottenham squad love Ange Postecoglou’s unique style of play and are convinced it can end the club’s trophy drought.

Solanke starred for Spurs in Thursday’s 4-3 win over Manchester United in the Carabao Cup with a brace, but a dramatic finale sparked more debate around Postecoglou’s bold front-foot philosophy and relentless attacking approach.

Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher has repeatedly stated Postecoglou must change and cannot play the same way for 90 minutes, which was echoed by Jamie Redknapp even though injury-hit Tottenham set up a last-four showdown with Liverpool in midweek.

Ahead of a semi-final dress rehearsal with Liverpool in the Premier League on Sunday, summer recruit Solanke lauded his head coach.

“Ange is very unique in the way he plays and we love it. The way he plays, it suits us,” Solanke told the PA news agency at Tottenham‘s One Hotspur Junior Christmas party earlier this week.

“It is a great style, especially for me being a striker to play in. Like I said, we haven’t been consistent enough this season. We’ve just come off not the greatest run but I feel we’re building towards that consistency.

“We’re like a family, we all want to achieve the same thing and every day we’re on the training ground working towards our goals. Ultimately we want to win stuff and we’re all on the same wave length.

“We all back each other, all believe in each other, like I said, we’re all on the same page.

“In football there is always times when you are on top and when you have a bit of dip, but it’s about working on the negatives to get that steady flow going. I think it will definitely come.”

Sunday will see Solanke back at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for the third time this week after he was joined by Son Heung-min, Timo Werner, Richarlison, Pape Sarr, Pedro Porro, Will Lankshear and Alfie Dorrington for Tuesday’s Christmas party with junior Spurs fans, where various festive activities were put on.

While the 27-year-old has only been at the club since August, the £65million forward has quickly developed into an integral player and is eager to become a leader for a young squad which features several of teenagers in Archie Gray, Lucas Bergvall, Mikey Moore and Lankshear.

Solanke added: “We have a lot of young boys and players like me, the more senior players with a bit more experience, definitely need to help the younger ones.

“It’s something you need in football. You need everyone you can to be a leader and help each other. That’s something I definitely want to do more.”

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Across five-and-a-half years at Bournemouth, Solanke developed into a talisman with 21 goals in all competitions during the 2023-24 campaign.

It earned the former Chelsea academy product a big-money move to Spurs and despite being able to improve his goal tally to nine on Thursday, Solanke wants more and is desperate to win his new club a first trophy since 2008.

“I always want more goals no matter how many I score. I would have liked to have a few more by now, but that’s always the mindset, you always want more. I think the main point is trying to get the consistency in the team right now and working towards some trophies,” Solanke insisted.

“I feel like I am where I wanted to be but I feel like I have still got a lot more to give though, so I will keep working and improving. And our main goal here is to win something now.

“The manager speaks about it all the time, we all obviously want to win something as well and that’s the dream of the football club. Like I keep mentioning, that is the wave we are on and hopefully we can achieve it.”

Spurs’ immediate priority is Sunday’s visit of Liverpool where the hosts’ will target a third consecutive victory despite being without eight players.

The fixture will carry extra significance for Solanke after he spent a difficult 18 months at Anfield before he left to join Bournemouth in 2019.

Solanke reflected: “I was still very young and it might have been a bit too young for me going there, but I learned a lot and I was thankful for my time there.

“Every game you want to win and do well. Obviously when it’s an old club, it always means a little bit more because you see familiar faces and want to get the better of them. It will be another tough game but we’ll take that challenge.”

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Arne Slot has seen his options against Tottenham boosted by injury and suspension returns, creating a welcome selection headache across each department.

The Reds have had to settle for a point in their last two league games and a return to the winner’s board is a must on Sunday afternoon against an inconsistent Spurs outfit.

Slot was able to rest seven starters during the midweek clash at Southampton, a timely boost and a direct contrast to Tottenham who have a day less to prepare and will be without eight players.

So, how could the Reds boss line up his side in north London? Let’s take a look.

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Slot offered a brief update on his squad away of another away game, confirming that he is expecting to be without just two players for the clash:

After making eight changes at Southampton, we can expect a similar number in the capital.

Alisson, Virgil van Dijk, Dominik Szoboszlai, Curtis Jones, Ryan Gravenberch, Luis Diaz and Mohamed Salah all did not make the trip to Southampton, nor did Robertson.

Seven of the eight will be expected to return to the starting lineup, with Slot needing to make a decision on his midfield combination – which will likely see one of Szoboszlai or Jones start from the bench.

Joe Gomez, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Alexis Mac Allister and Cody Gakpo are likely to be retained from midweek after all being withdrawn before the end of the 90 minutes:

• Alisson, Van Dijk and Robertson all return at the back
• Gravenberch joins Szoboszlai and Mac Allister in midfield
• Salah back on the right wing alongside Gakpo and Diaz

That would make for seven changes and see the Reds line up as follows:

Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, Van Dijk, Robertson; Gravenberch, Szoboszlai, Mac Allister; Salah, Gakpo, Diaz

Alternatively, Jones could be given the nod in midfield over Szoboszlai having started all three matches prior to the League Cup fixture in midweek.

And if Slot gets the green light to start Kostas Tsimikas and Diogo Jota following their injury returns, he could be tempted to do so with a pre-planned substitution for the pair in the second half.

As Diaz was able to put his feet up during the week, he will be favoured for the left-wing role ahead of Gakpo after the Dutchman featured for 63 minutes.

• Tsimikas selected over Robertson after injury return
• Jones in the advanced midfield role over Szoboszlai
• Jota to make first start since October 22

Those tweaks look like this:

Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, Van Dijk, Tsimikas; Gravenberch, Jones, Mac Allister; Salah, Diaz, Jota

Having been stretched at times in recent weeks due to various injuries, Slot will welcome the selection dilemmas and the options he has off the bench to change the game if needed.

The Reds head to Tottenham in good shape and they need to take advantage of a Spurs side missing key players and susceptible to conceding goals.

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