Jamie Carragher sends clear message to Arne Slot over Liverpool tactical tweak

• Liverpool FC News
• Features
• Liverpool FC

Liverpool's playing style has come under the microscope in the days since that goalless draw at home to Leeds United on New Year's Day, and Carragher has said there needs to be some more attacking changes implemented

Jamie Carragher wants Liverpool to play with more excitement and greater attacking variety(Image: Sky Sports)

Jamie Carragher has called on Arne Slot to add greater excitement to Liverpool’s playing style and claimed the Reds have played with the “handbrake on” in recent weeks.

Liverpool is currently on an eight-game unbeaten streak, even if the displays have often not matched those results. Slot’s side labored to victories over nine-man Tottenham Hotspur and bottom-place Wolverhampton Wanderers last month, before failing to find a way past relegation-threatened Leeds United on New Year’s Day.

Even Virgil van Dijk admitted after the latter that he could sense the supporters’ frustration at a performance which lacked incision and cutting edge in the final third.

Liverpool’s playing style has been a major talking point in the days since that Leeds match. Slot altered his tactics earlier this season to stem a run of nine defeats in 12, making the team more resolute and structured, while limiting chances for the opposition, which has led to an eight-match unbeaten run.

However, those changes have come at a cost and have somewhat blunted Liverpool's offensive output.

Carragher, speaking on Sky Sports before the trip to Fulham on Sunday,” called for greater variety in Liverpool’s attacking patterns.

“There was a lot of frustration about the performance after the Leeds game a few days ago, opined the former defender.

Slot has faced criticism in the days since the Leeds game(Image: Jan Kruger/Getty Images)

“Understandable, it was a poor performance; they never really looked like scoring, but it was actually the first 0-0 Arne Slot has ever had as a Liverpool manager, so there is progress.

“But it feels like you’re watching a team playing with the handbrake on. That’s the best way to describe it. It’s not how you imagine a Liverpool team to play.

“I felt that what happened in the first four or five games [of the unbeaten run], I would expect performances to improve.

Carragher has given his verdict on Liverpool's playing style(Image: 2025 James Gill - Danehouse)

“I can understand the manager thinking: it's just about results, you make it difficult for the opposition, you build some confidence, build a foundation going into games that you’re not going to lose, then you see the football start to come.

“It’s just taking a little bit longer than most people expect. Most supporters can understand at the start of this run why the manager changed, left [Mohamed] Salah out of the team, maybe why the team wasn’t on the front foot quite as much.

“He had to make sure he stopped losing games. He did that, now it’s time to see a bit more football, a bit more excitement and a few more goals as well. I think we’re definitely at that stage right now.”