Three things to take away from Liverpool’s friendly loss against Preston as Arne Slot is having some problems

Preston North End was the opponent for Liverpool as they intensified their preseason preparations. Now, Arne Slot’s team will embark on a summer tour of the United States.

The Arne Slot era begins when Liverpool plays Ipswich Town in four weeks. The Dutchman’s first Premier League match in command will be that one; a week later, he will lead Anfield in a meaningful match against Brentford.

Liverpool and Preston North End played a private friendly on Friday as part of the team’s preseason preparations. You may delve deeper into the lessons we learnt here and read a report on what transpired here. Next is Arne Slot’s assessment of the game during the first ninety minutes.

But what important lessons have we learned thus far from preseason? We saw a brief preview of Slot’s team in Kirkby, but there are still 11 senior players who need to return from their post-Euro 2024 and Copa America hiatus.

These are the three things Liverpool.com learned from the opening summer friendly. Undoubtedly, the countdown to the Portman Road visit has started.

Impressive young talent from Liverpool

Trey Nyoni and Amara Nallo were two of the younger players in this match. Ben Doak and Kaide Gordon both made an impression; the latter seems extremely talented despite missing Euro 2024 due to injury.

Doak was a first-half substitute who played off the left. He cut inside once or twice early in the game to set up teammates on the fringe of the box. He is straightforward and quite dangerous with his fast feet.

Rio Ngumoha and Alvin Ayman are anticipated to sign summer transfer agreements with the Reds from Chelsea and Wolves, respectively. This was another important reminder that under the current administration, there would still be opportunities for young talent to thrive.

Lesson 1: Doak, who is eighteen, is physically prepared for a loan relocation. Is there a chance he’ll play enough at Anfield the following season to make sticking with Slot and Liverpool worthwhile?

Coming together in the Arne Slot style… but there’s a problem

It’s obvious that you can’t expect too much from a friendly that was arranged mostly for fitness reasons, but even though the score didn’t show it, Liverpool was clearly the better team in this match. Robbie Brady’s 40-yard attempt, which Preston managed to clip into the net off the crossbar, was the only shot on goal despite some deft passing manoeuvres.

“It’s important to play a game as well after two weeks of hard training sessions,” Slot said to LFCTV following the game. The fact that everyone was in good physical shape going into the game and continued to be so throughout was crucial.

“The past two weeks have gone well. Sadly, the outcome of today did not meet our expectations; but, they maintained their fitness, many of them played, and I observed numerous young players who saw some action.

That’s a positive thing. Slot answered, “Definitely,” when asked if he saw the things on the pitch that the squad had been practicing throughout training. “I’ve seen this a lot during the training sessions; a bit more than today but they also had to deal with the playing style of the opponent.”

Lesson 2: Slot will be aware that the calibre of play will increase even further as more experienced players come back. But the fact that so many celebrities will need to make such quick changes before the next campaign kicks off raises concerns.

With someone like Luis Diaz and Alexis Mac Allister, Slot probably won’t have much more than a few weeks to work with them. It will be difficult to convince them of his ideas during that period, and there won’t be much of a break following a demanding season. Slot has a vibrant approach, and it will be interesting to observe how different it is from Klopp’s methods. But there will be a wait for the majority of the Liverpool team.

For some, it’s all about transfers.

It was obvious that some people on social media would respond as soon as they saw the score. Fortunately, Liverpool will be far more composed and level-headed about the entire situation.

This is not the Liverpool lineup that will start the Premier League opening in less than a month, since numerous players are absent due to important international tournaments. It’s really extremely astounding to be that domineering while yet having a very youthful side.

Lesson 3: The truth is that the outcome in this case was unimportant, but those who value transfers more than victories and trophies won’t be content unless some cash is spent. However, it served as just another reminder that a social media breakdown may happen very quickly.

It was more likely that August will see a frenzy of movement across the English top division, Richard Hughes frankly stated. For certain sections of the internet, though, nothing beats a good moan!