Slot style “inspired by Guardiola and Klopp”

New Liverpool head coach Arne Slot says his preferred style of play – and that of many coaches across Europe – was ‘inspired’ by the rivalry between his predecessor Jurgen Klopp’s Reds and Manchester City of Pep Guardiola in recent seasons.

Slot has given his first interview to club media following his departure from Feyenoord to succeed Klopp at Anfield.

The Dutchman said: “It was a time when everyone looked at the Barcelona team of Xavi, Iniesta and Messi and the rivalry there was with Real Madrid, with the presence of Cristiano Ronaldo.

“When that ended, the new rivalry in European football was born because of Jurgen – he managed Liverpool and Pep Guardiola managed Manchester City. For anyone who loves football, it was a fantastic time to see them both get the best out of each other.”

Asked if there were any style similarities between him and Klopp, Slot added: “I think there are and I think that’s also one of the reasons why I’m came.

“When something is successful, a certain way of playing, you would like to extend that or continue. That’s probably one of the reasons why they also came to me.

“It’s my style but I think it’s the style of a lot of modern managers at the moment. We’ve all been a bit inspired by the rivalry between City and Liverpool.

“At a big club, where I also worked at Feyenoord, that’s probably the only style you can play: having a lot of ball and a lot of energy.”