Slot believes Liverpool have ´many challenges to come´ in Premier League title race

Arne Slot envisages “many challenges to come” in Liverpool’s Premier League title race, despite his side moving five points clear at the top of the table with victory on Saturday.

The Reds capitalised on Manchester City’s slip at Brighton by taking all three points in a 2-0 win over Aston Villa to establish breathing space at the summit.

Darwin Nunez gave the hosts the lead at Anfield as he capitalised after a quick counter, before Mohamed Salah did the same six minutes from time to secure all three points.

While Slot was pleased by the outcome, he is aware the cushion at the top does not guarantee a smooth run in their title challenge.

“It wasn’t easy, like most of our games have been now,” he told TNT Sport. “Aston Villa were maybe not as aggressive as we thought they would be.

“We were patient. One thing they are very good at is set-pieces. In general, we had control over the game and scored from two counter-attacks, which is maybe not what we would expect.

“If I look at the games that are ahead, they are tough. It will be a tough season in general. Margins are small, we have a margin, but it is small. [There are] many challenges to come for us.”

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— Liverpool FC (@LFC) November 9, 2024

Slot has got off to a fine start since succeeding Jurgen Klopp as manager at the start of the season, as he became just the fourth manager to win as many as nine of his first 11 Premier League games in charge, after John Gregory, Guus Hiddink, and Carlo Ancelotti.

Liverpool now have 28 points in the league. They have only previously equalled this total once after 11 games, in their title-winning season of 2019-20 (31).

Equally, no manager has ever won more points from their first 11 games in the competition than Slot. The Dutchman is not concerned by totals or margins, however, with his focus remaining on the philosophy he wants to instil at Anfield.

“As a manager, if you come into a new club, you don’t think about how many points after how many games,” he told BBC Match of the Day. “You think about changing the style or keeping it as it was.

“To change the style, you have to do a lot of things on the training ground and in meetings. The only thing I have thought about is how to implement the playing style, and how to make sure the players keep working as hard as they can.”