Written by
Simon Austin
March 28, 2025
Former Liverpool assistant Vitor Matos has praised Arne Slot for his ‘exceptional’ transition into the club, while insisting he inherited a squad that was “ready to win titles.”
Matos, 37, was the Elite Development Coach at Liverpool from October 2019 to June 2024. The role was set up to help players make a smooth transition from the Under-21s to the senior side, although, over time, Matos became more and more involved with the senior squad.
When Jürgen Klopp exited as Manager at the end of last season, Matos went too, with Slot coming in from Feyenoord to become boss. The Reds are currently 12 points clear at the top of the Premier League and are hot favourites to take the title.
Speaking on Episode #67 of the TGG Podcast, in association with Genius Sports, Matos said: “What Arne did is outstanding, because it is not easy to replace Jürgen.
“We tried to leave the club – and Jürgen left the club – in a really good moment. The idea was to leave the club in a better position than when he arrived.
“The squad we left, we all had a feeling it was a squad ready to win titles. They have an unbelievable team in terms of togetherness. But it’s not easy to come to Liverpool, a big club, and replace Jürgen, someone that was so loved by everyone.
“What (Slot) has done is exceptional, of course. The game quality and, at the same time, being able to win consistently and that is the most important thing.”
Matos has been watching Liverpool closely since his departure and has identified tactical changes under Slot.
“Defending, you can see much more of a man-oriented press and less of a ball-oriented press, especially in the midfielders, (who) control much more the man than the space by itself,” the Portuguese said.
“This has changed how and where the press starts, and the spaces can change as well. At the same time, there are different game plans. In one game we can see Liverpool pressing much higher and in another they start with more of a mid block for example.
Sessions with: Andreas Georgson, Justin Cochrane, Tom Corden, Darcy Norman, Josh McClaren, Craig Cope and Ed Sulley.
“I think the triggers are changing, regarding who starts the press and who follows. Some dynamics were already there in the past, some were new, in terms of the positioning of the full-backs or strikers and the 10 sometimes as well, and even defending a little bit differently in terms of where the press starts on the pitch.
“Attacking wise, there are sometimes different starting positions for the full-backs, sometimes they start in deeper lines or facing the game close to the centre-backs. Not in all the games – there were different approaches in different games depending on dynamics.
“It’s not about being better or worse, but about doing things differently. This season they are having a lot of success, so this is good.
“The most important thing is that there is a clear idea, and this clear idea is possible to achieve with the squad he has and it is possible to have consistently good performance.
“That says a lot about Arne and a lot about the whole club on the moment as well.”
The most dramatic change of all has perhaps been in Ryan Gravenberch, who has been transformed into an outstanding deep-lying midfielder under Slot.
The Dutchman joined from Bayern Munich under Klopp in September 2023, but was never a regular starter and tended to play in more attacking areas.
“You can see players in different roles and one of those is Ryan Gravenberch, who is doing an outstanding season as a number six,” Matos said. “That is something that completely improved by itself the offensive game, in terms of how the ball moves, how the ball breaks lines, and the direction he can give with one touch.
“Sometimes this kind of thing happens – a need creates an opportunity and this creates a beautiful idea. In the beginning of the season, everyone spoke about Liverpool needing to sign a number six, because there was no-one.
“Alexis (Mac Allister) was coming back from the Copa (America) and Ryan grabbed the spot and grabbed it outstandingly. That creates a different dynamic and different things.
“We never used Ryan in that position before, because Alexis and Wataru (Endo) were doing outstanding for us. Ryan arrived at the club having had almost one season without consistent game time, so it was not easy for him to adapt.
“We all saw his potential when we played against Ajax (in the Champions League in 2020), when he was there, and we were not able to catch him on that transfer window, so he went to Bayern (Munich). But we all – especially Jürgen and Pep – were big believers in him.
“We all saw his potential in terms of quality, so it was a matter of consistency and opportunity. This season, everything came together, and I’m really happy for him and for Liverpool.”
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