Welcome to The Blueprint TOTS. A weekly series where myself (pauciloquxnt) and FUTWIZ will be diving into the ‘Teams of the Season’ and how we can recreate them in FC 25. This week, to coincide with Premier League TOTS, we’ll be looking at Arne Slots’ title-winning Liverpool side, hope you enjoy it!
Liverpool 2024/25 – Control, Cohesion & Tactical Evolution
Arne Slot’s inaugural season at Liverpool has been marked by a seamless transition from Jürgen Klopp’s era, emphasising structured possession, disciplined pressing, and tactical adaptability. Slot’s approach has revitalised the squad, fostering a clearer identity rooted in collective responsibility and tactical precision. This transformation has led to their 20th league title and a deep run in the UEFA Champions League.
Under Slot, Liverpool has averaged 61.3% possession per match in the Premier League, reflecting a sustained commitment to controlling the tempo and dictating the rhythm of games. Offensively, they’ve registered an expected goals (xG) tally of 69.7, underlining their attacking potency across a variety of chance creation patterns. Defensively, an expected goals against (xGA) of 28.2 demonstrates their structural solidity and effective organisation without the ball, reflecting improvements in shape and spatial control.
Formation and Build-Up Play
Slot has implemented a flexible 4-2-3-1 formation, transitioning into a 2-3-5 during possession phases, with an emphasis on positional discipline, vertical compactness, and intelligent rotations:
- Backline Structure: Centre-backs Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konaté offer composure, leadership, and physical dominance, forming the base of the team’s build-up. Andrew Robertson often tucks inside to support the central defenders, enabling the formation of a temporary back three and allowing for fluidity in midfield.
- Wing-Back Dynamics: Full-backs provide crucial width, with both Robertson and Alexander-Arnold pushing high into advanced areas. Trent, in particular, has embraced a more traditional wing-back role this season, often holding width to stretch the pitch, deliver early crosses, and engage in overlapping sequences rather than drifting into midfield as he did under Klopp.
- Midfield Dynamics: The double pivot of Ryan Gravenberch and Alexis Mac Allister balances ball progression and defensive coverage. Gravenberch often holds deeper positions to shield the defence and recycle possession calmly under pressure, while Mac Allister supports play through quick combinations, incisive movement, and carries between the lines.
- Attacking Fluidity: Mohamed Salah has operated with greater positional freedom this season, a shift made possible by the structured and disciplined movement of the surrounding forwards. Dominik Szoboszlai and Luis Díaz maintain width and balance, occupying defenders and ensuring Liverpool retain their shape, which allows Salah to drift across the front line, drop deeper to link play, or make diagonal runs into the box. This freedom has amplified his influence in final third scenarios, creating unpredictable attacking patterns while keeping Liverpool tactically sound.
This structure enables Liverpool to dominate possession, draw opponents into uncomfortable areas, and transition fluidly into the final third with sustained attacking momentum.
Defensive Organisation & Pressing
Slot’s Liverpool is characterised by a relentless and highly coordinated pressing system that aims to suffocate opponents, limit progression, and recover possession in advanced areas. Out of possession, the team typically falls into a compact 4-2-4 shape, with Dominik Szoboszlai stepping up from midfield to join the central striker on the front line. This advanced positioning helps Liverpool initiate pressure from the front while maintaining coverage across the second line.
- Relentless Pressing: The team presses aggressively from the front, using well-timed triggers – particularly when the ball is played wide, backwards, or into a corner. These cues activate a swarm press that traps opponents and forces hurried decisions or turnovers.
- Midfield Disruption: Gravenberch and Mac Allister excel at reading play and applying pressure in central zones, often stepping up to intercept, delay counters, or force sideways passes. Their positioning ensures vertical compactness and cuts off easy progression.
- Transition Defence: Liverpool’s rest defence is meticulously structured, with centre-backs holding their line and midfielders collapsing quickly to compress space. The front line’s commitment to counter-pressing immediately after possession is lost helps prevent fast breaks and allows for quick regains.
This pressing structure has been central to Liverpool’s territorial dominance and ability to regain control after transitions, maintaining momentum and minimising threats.
Key Roles Within the System
Virgil van Dijk – The Defensive Leader
- Anchors the backline with composure and aerial dominance.
- Directs defensive organisation, ensuring a stable shape during transitions.
- Initiates build-up play with accurate progressive passing.
Ryan Gravenberch – The Midfield Anchor
- High pass completion rate facilitates smooth transitions.
- Dictates tempo and distributes the ball effectively.
- Engages defensively, disrupting opposition build-up.
Alexis Mac Allister – The Box-to-Box Engine
- Exceptional work rate, contributing offensively and defensively.
- Supports attacks with timely runs into the box.
- Participates actively in pressing schemes.
Mohamed Salah – The Creative Spark
- Leads the team with 28 goals and 18 assists, essential to Liverpool’s attacking potency.
- Operates with positional freedom, exploiting spaces and creating scoring opportunities.
- Initiates the team’s press, contributing to defensive efforts.
Overcoming Squad Limitations
Despite the departure of several experienced players and a cautious approach in the transfer market, Slot has maximised the output of the current squad. His ability to instil a clear tactical identity and foster internal cohesion has enabled the team to overcome concerns around depth and maintain high performance levels across all competitions.
Slot has also incorporated youth integration, though his relative hesitation to rotate the starting XI consistently became a point of concern. This cautious approach to rotation arguably contributed to a dip in intensity and sharpness during the final stretch of the season, where the physical and mental toll of an intense campaign began to show. Emerging players have stepped into key roles with confidence, benefitting from Slot’s detailed instructions and clearly defined systems.
How This Helped Liverpool Win the Title
Slot’s well-drilled tactical framework was instrumental in guiding Liverpool to their 20th league title. Their blend of controlled possession, dynamic pressing, and vertical attacking transitions consistently overwhelmed opponents across the campaign. Liverpool demonstrated both stylistic clarity and tactical flexibility, which allowed them to adapt to different match contexts.
This renewed structure also saw Liverpool progress deep into the Champions League, reflecting the side’s evolution into a unit capable of competing with Europe’s best. Slot’s fingerprints are evident in every phase of play – from build-up to rest defence – demonstrating the impact of his philosophy and preparation. His modern, system-first approach has rejuvenated Liverpool’s identity and results.
Recreated for FC 25
Make sure to check out the full tactic on FUTWIZ
The Tactics
Build-Up Style is set to Counter, in order that we can recreate the lightning-quick transitions that are a staple of Slot’s Liverpool.
Line Height is set to 70 so that we can enact a high press, but not sacrifice defensive solidity. We need to pull the CAM into a 4-2-4 shape to start this off ourselves.
The GK is set to Sweeper Keeper with a Balanced focus. Alisson is the best in the league at playing the ball with his feet and getting involved with the build up. Easy choice.
The LB and RB are set to Fullback with a Balanced focus. The annoying thing about the FC IQ system is we cannot have if/or commands. Ideally I’d have loved to be able to say IF the RB goes forward, the LB tucks in and vice versa. We can’t do that, so this is the closest we can get.
The CBs are set to Defender with a Defend focus. Nice and simple, let them do their jobs, nothing fancy here.
The RDM is set to Holding with a Roaming focus. Gravenberch has excelled this season in a new role, sweeping up in front of the back four and covering for the advancing full-back. This allows for this movement to happen, whilst also jumping up to aggress the ball carrier when out of possession.
The LDM is set to Deep-Lying Playmaker with a Build-Up focus. Mac Allister plays almost as a box-to-box midfielder, but has a deeper starting position. this role and focus combination allows for this to work seamlessly.
The CAM is set to Shadow Striker with an Attack focus. Szoboszlai aggresses in the press, forming a 4-2-4 shape, also makes direct runs forward, occupying defenders and allowing Salah to have more of a free role.
The LW is set to Winger with a Balanced focus. For Slot, the left winger tends to hug the touchline, to create space for the LDM to move into in the left half-space.
The RW is set to Inside Forward with a Roaming focus. Mohamed Salah has had the best season of his career, and surely has to be the front runner for the Ballon d’Or. This is because he has had a much freer role than seasons past, allowing him to be the main creative and goal scoring outlet for the team.
The ST is set to Advanced Forward with a Support focus. The striker is less relevant than other years for Liverpool, with none of the regular players that have started there really getting amongst the goals. Their role is as a link up man and decoy runner.
Tips and Tricks
- L1 triggers to bring your full-backs into the attack will be great to create overloads in the wide areas – make sure to use them, but not relying on them.
- Utilise your Shadow Striker in the press. You want to move into a 4-2-4 shape when initially pressing and you initiate it by pulling up the CAM alongside the striker.
- Your Inside Forward will be your chief creative engine, filling in the gaps that the other attackers vacate, always open for a pass or a shot.
- Make sure you use the width on the left-hand side. With the role set to Winger, they will always be there to stretch the play.
- Make sure your DMs have Relentless – they will be doing the bulk of the running in this tactic. If you can’t, make sure to have capable replacements on the bench.
Conclusion
Arne Slot’s Liverpool has redefined the club’s tactical identity with a focus on precision, discipline, and cohesion. Prioritising collective performance over individual stardom, Slot has created a team that is both stylistically distinctive and ruthlessly effective. With a robust tactical foundation, elite pressing coordination, and clear automatisms in possession, Liverpool are well-placed to maintain their elite status and challenge for major honours in seasons to come.
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