Since the 46-year-old became the first Dutch manager to win the Premier League and the fifth manager to win gold on his first try, Arne Slot’s first season at Liverpool can be deemed a success. He has lessened the damage after Jurgen Klopp left for fresh opportunities, which is more significant to the supporters of Anfield.
Winning the Champions League was still possible in the early going of 2024–2025, but that was before they lost to Luis Enrique’s Paris Saint-Germain in the Round of 16, which caused them to finish their season at the top table of Europe earlier than anticipated.
English clubs are generally believed to play quicker than teams who play a more relaxed, possession-based style of play since they play in the Premier League, but do the underlying data support this expectation? More specifically, we’ve examined each Liverpool player’s top speeds from this season’s Champions League run.
27–21 Alisson outpaced the academy three in speed.
James McConnell, a young player who patrolled the engine room during Liverpool’s Champions League dead rubber match against PSV Eindhoven at the end of January, is starting things. His top speed of 27.8 km/h was just slower than that of Trey Nyoni (29 km/h) and fellow youngster Amara Nallo (28.5 km/h).
The always dependable Alisson Becker, who is considered to be among the greatest goalkeepers in Premier League history, has outpaced the three aforementioned players at 29.2 km/h despite being positioned in goal. This may have happened when he hurried out to retrieve a loose ball.
Before going on loan to Sunderland for the second half of the season, Jayden Danns played 83 Champions League minutes against PSV. During his brief appearance, the 2006-born star’s top pace was slightly over 30 km/h. He was able to reach a precise speed of 30.1 km/h.
Their respective highest speeds of 30.3 km/h and 30.6 km/h in the Champions League this season suggest that engine room duo Harvey Elliott, 22, and Wataru Endo, ten years the Englishman’s senior, may not have the license to fully utilise their Type II twitch fibres.
From Slowest to Fastest, Liverpool Players ranked 27–21
Rank
Position of the Player
Maximum Velocity (km/h)
Games Played
Played Minutes
27.
MID James McConnell
27.8
One
90
26.
DEF Amara Nallo
28.5
One
4.
25.
ATT’s Trey Nynoi
29
One
26
24.
GK Alisson Becker
29.2
6.
570
23.
ATT’s Jayden Danns
30.1
One
83
22.
MID by Wataru Endo
30.3
6.
140
21.
MID’s Harvey Elliot
39.6
5.
168
Luis Diaz, Diogo Jota, and Alexis Mac Allister are featured in 20-11
With top speeds of 30.9 and 31.8 km/h, goalie Caoimhin Kelleher and Diogo Jota, one of Slot’s many superstars, lead the top 20. Given how frequently a lung-busting run is used to grasp onto a ball that has been thrown into the danger area, the latter seems surprising.
Although Kostas Tsimikas, who is linked to Leeds United, has some doubts going into the summer, he has made six Champions League appearances this season and recorded a top speed of 32 km/h, which is slower than Tyler Morton, a young midfielder who has only played 39 minutes.
Alexis Mac Allister, who is more well-known for his ability to gallop around like a Duracell bunny than a cheetah, is widely regarded as one of the most underappreciated football players on the planet right now. He achieved a decent top speed of 32.3 km/h.
Next up are Cody Gakpo, Federico Chiesa, and Joe Gomez, who collectively weren’t thought to be surefire starters for Slot and his team this season. They ran up to 32.4 km/h, 32.9 km/h, and 33 km/h, respectively.
One would think Luis Diaz would break the top ten, at the very least, because of his clever feet and wide playing style. The Colombian sensation, however, is ranked eleventh; his maximum speed was only 33.2 km/h, precisely the same as that of the previously mentioned Gakpo.
From Slowest to Fastest, Liverpool Players ranked 27–21
Rank
Position of the Player
Maximum Velocity (km/h)
Games Played
Played Minutes
20.
GK’s Caoimhin Kelleher
30.9
4.
360 degrees
19.
ATT’s Diogo Jota
31.8
4.
237
18.
DEF Kostas Tsimikas
32
6.
444
17.
Tyler Morton – MID
32
One
39
16.
Alexis Mac Allister – MID
32.3
8.
674
15.
Curtis Jones – MID
32.4
8.
352
14.
Joe Gomez – DEF
32.9
4.
119
13.
Federico Chiesa – MID
33
3.
107
12.
Cody Gakpo – ATT
33.2
8.
369
11.
Luis Diaz – ATT
33.2
9.
633
10-1
Six defenders dominate Liverpool’s top ten speedsters
The top 10 speedsters in Liverpool’s lineup are led by Ryan Gravenberch, who is considered by many to be among the best midfielders in the world of football. He recorded a speed of 33.4 km/h while playing 784 minutes in Europe’s premier table this season.
This pace is comparable to that of an elderly Andy Robertson, whose spot in the team is in jeopardy this summer. Ibrahima Konate, another centre defender, reached a maximum speed of 34.1 km/h, while Jarell Quansah just breaks the 34 km/h threshold.
Unavoidable Although Mohamed Salah is most recognised for finding the correct spots and scoring goals like it’s going out of style, he also possesses speed to burn in order to increase his offensive threat. His speed for 808 Champions League minutes was 34/5 km/h.
Although Darwin Nunez’s goal-scoring abilities are often criticised, he does possess raw speed, as demonstrated by his top speed of 34.4 km/h. However, Dominik Szobsozlai, who has been among the fastest players in Premier League history since records began, outperformed him.
Who claims that a person becomes slower as they age? By recording the fastest speed in Liverpool’s 2023–24 Champions League campaign—34.9 km/h, to be exact—captain Virgil van Dijk, 33, defies that very logic!
From Slowest to Fastest, Liverpool Players ranked 27–21
Rank
Position of the Player
Maximum Velocity (km/h)
Games Played
Played Minutes
10.
MID Ryan Gravenberch
33.4
9.
784
9.
DEF Andy Robertson
33.4
8.
551
8.
DEF Jarell Quansah
34
4.
229
7.
DEF Ibrahima Konate
34.1
7.
649
6.
DEF Trent Alexander-Arnold
34.1
8.
577
5.
ATT’s Darwin Nunez
34.4
9.
465
4.
MID’s Dominik Szoboszlai
34.5
9.
637
3.
ATT’s Mohamed Salah
34.5
9.
808
2.
DEF Conor Bradley
34.9
5.
278
1.
DEF Virgil van Dijk
34.9
9.
840
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