Liverpool turn wins and records into trophies
When Arne Slot took charge of Liverpool following Jurgen Klopp’s departure at the end of last season, the Dutchman recognised he had “big shoes to fill”.
After all, Klopp had delivered a Champions League and a long-awaited Premier League title as well as the FA Cup and a couple of League Cups.
These are still very early days for Slot, but few could have predicted such a smooth transition like the one that has taken place at Liverpool.
A 1-0 Champions League victory against RB Leipzig on Wednesday was their 11th win in 12 matches since Slot took charge.
Meanwhile, Slot’s Liverpool are the first team in the club’s history to win each of their opening six away games of a season.
“Arne Slot says ‘judge us after the end of November’, because he thinks they will be playing better then,” said former Scotland winger Pat Nevin, who was in Leipzig for BBC Radio 5 Live.
“Maybe the rest of the Premier League will have to be worried because they are almost unbeatable.
“Liverpool fans have seen their team play better than this, but they haven’t seen a better run than this.”
-
Nunez scores as Liverpool extend fine start under Slot
Winning Slot machine
Liverpool are just the seventh top-flight English side to win each of their opening six away games across all competitions in a season. They are the third team to do so in the Premier League era after Newcastle in 1994-95 and Manchester City in 2017-18.
They are becoming a winning machine under Slot, an efficient team who know how to get the job done rather than blowing opponents away.
Will they turn wins into trophies at the business end of the season?
One thing is certain: Slot will not allow anyone to get carried away as he juggles the high-pressure demands of the Premier League and the Champions League.
But with Liverpool top in the Premier League and level on nine points with Aston Villa at the top of the league phase of the Champions League after three games, Slot is making light work of one of the most demanding jobs in football.
“Liverpool are very much in groove,” said former Manchester City defender Nedum Onuoha on BBC Radio 5 Live.
“To know that they can play better while winning a majority of their games, it’s a very nice position to be in.”
Heading to Arsenal after eight straight wins
Klopp’s Liverpool won their opening seven Premier League and Champions League games in 2018-19, a season that saw them finish one point behind champions Manchester City before defeating Tottenham in the Champions League final.
Slot’s Class of 2024 are the first Liverpool team ever to win 11 of their opening 12 games in a campaign, with September’s 1-0 defeat by Nottingham Forest the single blip since he became head coach.
They head to Arsenal on Sunday (16:30 GMT) on the back of an eight-game winning run – the first time they have produced such a run since March 2022.
“Liverpool picked up when they needed to and looked very, very good,” added Nevin about the latest win against RB Leipzig.
“They are not quite there yet, but then you look at the Premier League and Champions League tables and you can’t say anything negative.”
‘Records are nice – trophies are better’
Slot has also emulated legendary Liverpool boss Bill Shankly by winning his first three European matches as manager.
Liverpool’s impressive start to the season includes wins against Manchester United, AC Milan and Chelsea.
There are some big tests on the horizon. As well as Arsenal, they have matches against German champions Bayer Leverkusen, Aston Villa, Real Madrid and Manchester City between now and 1 December.
“This is a team on a brilliant run with some players playing well, but it’s clear more improvements will come,” said Nevin.
“If you are having this sort of run and nowhere near peaking yet, that’s real good news.
“Arne Slot’s aware of it. There’s more to come from this team, but you wouldn’t think so from the results.”
After the Leipzig game, Slot said his players must be proud after achieving the “almost impossible” feat of setting new club records.
Like Klopp, Slot is aware he will be judged on the number of trophies he brings to Anfield – not records.
“Records are nice, but other things are nicer than records and you know what I mean by that – trophies,” Slot said.
Comments are closed.