Arne Slot is too savvy to follow Brendan Rodgers' infamous example in Liverpool's huge week

It was 10 years ago this month when Brendan Rodgers effectively signed his resignation letter in the eyes of some Liverpool supporters.

Fresh from a defeat at Newcastle, Rodgers opted to use the occasion of a Champions League clash with Real Madrid in the Bernabeu to make seven changes to his starting XI, leaving the likes of Steven Gerrard, Raheem Sterling, Jordan Henderson and Philippe Coutinho on the bench.

In their stead it fell to Lazar Markovic, Fabio Borini, Kolo Toure, Javier Manquillo and Alberto Moreno to have a run out in the Spanish capital as Liverpool lost 1-0. The 'first XI', including a peeved Gerrard, returned to face Chelsea the following weekend and they lost that too.

Rodgers had got himself in a spin by this time, with the Madrid defeat coming in a run of just one win in eight - and that a scratchy late success over Swansea in the League Cup - which had begun with Real winning 3-0 at Anfield. As the Spanish giants return for the third time since then on Wednesday night they will find a club transformed and a manager who won't lose his head.

That's because one of the many impressive things about Arne Slot's superb start to Liverpool life is just how measured his approach has been, with his style of football allowing for rotation to be done in a methodical and intelligent way.

Image: Liverpool Echo) Liverpool Echo)

Of course that style pretty much went out of the window at times during the madcap win over Southampton on Sunday, but if Liverpool are going to make this a successful season then there are going to be emotional rollercoasters along the way. Slot craves control, but he can't have it all the time.

What he can do though is use his players in an intelligent way, meaning that even though next Sunday's visit of Manchester City is now Anfield's biggest game since Liverpool won the Premier League title in 2020, Slot doesn't have to drastically rotate and rest his players for the Real Madrid clash before it like Rodgers thought he had to do.

Momentum is key to this joyously unfolding Liverpool season, and Slot has got his players in a perfect rhythm through a mixture of clever rotation and a more patient way of playing. It's become a perfect blend.

Image: PA) PA)

So while you can expect to see perhaps two or three changes for the visit of Real it won't be wholesale switches, and the Dutchman will trust the bulk of players who have done so well for him so far, twisting and tweaking the side where he sees fit.

It is a clever approach and the right one, and one that Rodgers could have done with following a decade ago.

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