Liverpool head coach, Arne Slot, admits Premier League physicality has challenged Liverpool’s style.

Liverpool head coach, Arne Slot, has conceded that the shift in playing styles across the Premier League this season initially caught him by surprise, but believes Liverpool’s technically gifted squad will ultimately benefit from adapting to the challenge.

Speaking to Sky Sports ahead of Sunday’s clash with Manchester City, the Liverpool head coach acknowledged that opposition teams have increasingly sought to disrupt the tempo of his side’s play with a more physical, restrictive approach.

Slot made headlines earlier this week after stating that entertaining football is “worth more” than trophies in the long term at Anfield, and he stood by those remarks, insisting that sustainable success is built on quality football.

“If you don’t play good football, it’s almost impossible to win something or achieve something sustainable,” he said.

However, Slot admitted that Liverpool have at times struggled to impose their preferred style when opponents focus on slowing the game down and limiting space.

“Every team should play the style that is best equipped for playing against us,” he explained. “It’s shown that we are sometimes struggling with that style.

“It’s not always possible to get pace into the game if the other team tries to do everything to take that pace out of it.”

Slot pointed to a clear contrast between matches in which Liverpool have thrived and those in which they have dropped points.

“When we play more open games this season, we’ve shown that we always want to be part of a game like that, and we’ve done really well,” he said. “But games where we’ve dropped points had a different look and feel. That’s not what we wanted, but what was forced on us.”

Despite those challenges, Slot believes Liverpool is progressing towards being able to control games regardless of the opposition’s approach.

“The next step is making sure that if that playing style is forced on us, we are good enough to change it towards the game we want,” he added.

Reiterating the principles he wants his team to embody, Slot stressed Liverpool’s commitment to proactive football.

“We never do time-wasting. We always want to press high. We always want to bring the ball out from the back,” he said. “But unfortunately, we face teams with a different approach, which is completely fair for them.”

Slot remains confident that as Liverpool continue to adjust, their commitment to attacking, high-tempo football will give them a long-term edge over their rivals.