While Liverpool’s front three have rightly taken most of the spotlight for leading the team to the Premier League title this season, it’s the midfield that has quietly been the engine behind their remarkable campaign.
Alexis Mac Allister, Ryan Gravenberch, and Dominik Szoboszlai have played a pivotal role in the Reds’ journey to winning the league title. Their blend of technical ability, tactical intelligence, and adaptability has allowed them to thrive under two different managerial styles of Jürgen Klopp and Arne Slot.
Let’s take a closer look at how this dynamic midfield has evolved to become the backbone of Liverpool’s title-winning run.
Liverpool brought in Alexis Mac Allister from Brighton & Hove Albion, Dominik Szoboszlai from RB Leipzig, Ryan Gravenberch from Bayern Munich, and Wataru Endo from VfB Stuttgart before the start of the 2023/24 season, with Jürgen Klopp looking to rebuild the squad after the departures of stalwarts Jordan Henderson and Fabinho.
While these players differed from Klopp’s previous midfielders in terms of profile, Liverpool fans were buzzing with excitement over the new signings, as what many dubbed “Klopp 2.0” appeared to be taking shape.
2023/24 season under Jürgen Klopp
The 2023/24 season saw Mac Allister, Szoboszlai, and Endo being the regular starters, with Gravenberch limited to appearances from the bench and starts in the domestic cups. Having finished the previous season outside the top four, Liverpool were to compete in the Europa League.
The Reds started the new season well, with Klopp’s new midfield making the transition look seamless. His high-octane pressing style suited Szoboszlai, who had a superb start to life at Merseyside. The Hungarian played in a more attacking role under Klopp. As for Mac Allister and Endo, they played in deeper defensive roles and were responsible for breaking up opposition play and helping the backline.
The midfielders were tasked with winning the ball back quickly and helping in transitions and counter-attacks. Collectively, Liverpool looked competent and exciting throughout the first half of the season.
However, it all started to unravel when Klopp announced his departure from Anfield in January, and the pressure on the team to win trophies under him one last time became overwhelming. Injuries to key players, mounting fatigue, and poor performances further derailed Liverpool as they crashed out of the Europa League in the quarter-finals and fell behind in the title race. The only trophy they won was the Carabao Cup; there too—in the final against Chelsea—they had to field several academy players.
In the end, the new Liverpool midfield didn’t provide consistent contributions. Mac Allister did bag 10 goal contributions in 33 league games, but Szoboszlai was particularly underwhelming after a great start, finishing with only six goal contributions in 33 league games. Endo, meanwhile, scored one goal in 29 league games, though his was a defence-first role. Both he and Szoboszlai started the season extremely well but began showing significant signs of fatigue towards the end.
2024/25 season under Arne Slot
With the arrival of Arne Slot from Feyenoord in 2024, Liverpool identified that reinforcement was required in the defensive side of midfield. They tried to get Martín Zubimendi from Real Sociedad, but the move collapsed at the eleventh hour.
Slot chose to deploy Ryan Gravenberch in a deep role, which proved to be a masterstroke from the Dutch manager. Gravenberch has flourished in the role this season—efficiently resisting the opposition press, taking it out with line-breaking passes, and controlling the tempo of the game. With Dominik Szoboszlai leading the Liverpool press, and Alexis Mac Allister affecting the game from a slightly deeper role but with the freedom to move forward and create, the three midfielders adapted to the control and possession-based football that Slot prefers.
Szoboszlai remains a more forward player under Slot. He has been the engine of the team, relentlessly pressing, tracking back out of possession, and often pushing aside his attacking impulses to make up for Mohamed Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold’s defensive shortcomings. And yet, he has managed to contribute with important goals in clutch situations. His ability to maintain high energy levels at all times and make box-to-box runs till the end of the game has been massively appreciated this season.
Mac Allister, on the other hand, possesses great game intelligence, positional awareness, and creativity to break low-block oppositions. An additional advantage is his ability to score from long range with a vicious swing of his right foot. The Argentine has made vital contributions in both attack and defence—his importance to this Liverpool team cannot be overstated.
Gravenberch isn’t a traditional No. 6 and has the technical ability to play in a more forward role, but he has adapted to Slot’s system like a fish to water. He has looked comfortable operating ahead of the backline, putting in vital interceptions and blocks. He also possesses great passing range and has the ability to start a counter with a precise long pass or break the lines with a defence-splitting one.
If we look at the three players’ stats this season, the numbers have certainly improved under Slot. Szoboszlai put up 12 G/A in 35 league games, Mac Allister 10 G/A in 35, while Gravenberch registered four assists in 36. The Dutchman’s contributions have been more significant in terms of interceptions per 90 (1.83), pass completion (89.3%), and progressive carries per 90 (1.95). He has been a decisive difference-maker in a position many Liverpool fans believed to be a huge gamble at the start of the season.
While these three have played more consistently, contributions from Curtis Jones (6 G/A in 32 games), Harvey Elliott (3 G/A in 17 games), and Wataru Endo (helping to close out games) cannot be dismissed either. The squad players have made vital contributions in keeping Liverpool at the top of the table.
Slot has also utilised his midfielders well with in-game tactical tweaks. More often than not, the changes he’s made have been to either reposition the midfielders or rotate them, instead of changing the attack or defence—unless forced to. As a result, Liverpool have been able to come back from losing positions to win games several times this season.
Conclusion
All football fans understand the vital role the midfield plays in any team; it’s the heart—the bridge between defence and attack, and an orchestrator that dictates play, thwarts attacks, and controls the tempo of the game.
While a solid midfield can win matches, a truly great one can define a season. At the start of the campaign, few had faith in this Liverpool trio—but they proved the doubters wrong. Working in perfect harmony, they blended their strengths and covered each other’s weaknesses, evolving into a cohesive unit that drove the team to a trophy-winning season.
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