He did walk towards the Kop to deliver a wave to the Liverpool fans who still adore him after applauding his own supporters, but this was a chastening night for Alonso, a night for the home supporters not to wonder about what might have been, but to revel in what they have under Slot.
Alonso did try to impart local knowledge to his players, constantly gesturing with his palms flat towards the floor calling for calm and composure. It worked a treat in a deadly dull first half but lost its impact as Liverpool ran riot once they had broken Bayer Leverkusen’s resistance.
Slot has made an outstanding start at Liverpool, his almost under-the-radar approach reflected in his polite celebrations after the final whistle blows, in sharp contrast to the fist-pumping antics and wild animation of the man who went before him.
If Slot has one issue to address, it might be that he should give his half-time team talk before the kick-off as Liverpool, for their outstanding record this season, can be slow starters.
Liverpool put themselves in a tough spot as they trailed Brighton at half-time at Anfield on Saturday before winning 2-1, once again looking listless and lifeless until the spark was provided by Diaz’s deadlock-breaker after 61 minutes.
In all competitions this season, Liverpool have scored 22 goals in the second half compared to 15 in the first, having 147 shots in the first half against 97 in the first. They have had 66 shots on target in the second half compared to 44 in the first.
Liverpool followed the pattern again here as Bayer Leverkusen keeper Lukas Hradecky was untroubled for 45 minutes before suddenly coming under the siege that brought four second-half goals.
Slot said: “I don’t know if it was that much to do with intensity but we took more risk. They overloaded the midfield a lot and we adjusted and took the risk to play one v one all over. And you also sometimes have to give credit to the opposition.
“I would love to see this from the start, but the other team then normally has intensity too. What I like is until now we keep producing this energy and keep going to a higher gear. Preferably we would start like this from the start but, as I said, we have to give credit to the opponent.”
Alonso was certainly in the mood to give credit to Liverpool, saying: “It is early to tell but I can see Liverpool have a very good balance, a very complete team. They work the 11 players and have the power to keep a clean sheet, which is important in the Champions League. In the Premier League, let’s see. It is early to tell but it is looking good for them.
“The result is painful. The performance is more painful. We lacked some power and consistency. Defeat, accept it, congratulate Liverpool and move on. I will try to separate the pain from the result from the feelings of coming back and having love. I’m really thankful to have that reception.”
Few could have a more seamless transition than Slot, with no Liverpool fans pining for the possibilities offered by Alonso any longer.
Slot does not agree that things have been easy, however, saying: “Not at all. If you only look at results, but Brighton was a difficult one, we were 1-0 behind and had to fight really hard. We have to play hard and work with really high intensity.
“Anfield is the best place to play, so every team that comes here is on the top of their game. If we can keep producing high intensity then we will keep winning and that is what we want.”
And Slot’s Liverpool continue to give Liverpool’s fans exactly what they want.
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