Liverpool head coach Arne Slot expects “many challenges” in the Reds’ pursuit of the Premier League title, despite his team extending their lead at the top of the table to five points with a win on Saturday.
Slot’s charges took advantage of Manchester City’s defeat to Brighton and Hove Albion at the AMEX Stadium, securing a 2-0 victory over Aston Villa to put some gap between themselves and the reigning champions.
Darwin Nunez put the home side ahead at Anfield by converting a quick counter-attack, while Egyptian winger Mohamed Salah added a second goal six minutes from the end to seal the win.
Although Slot was pleased with the result, he admitted that their current position does not guarantee an easy path to the Premier League title.
“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.”
Arne Slot has had an impressive start as Liverpool’s manager, becoming only the fourth manager to win nine of his first 11 Premier League games, joining John Gregory, Guus Hiddink, and Carlo Ancelotti.
Liverpool now have 28 points, a mark they’ve only reached this quickly once before, during their 2019/2020 title-winning season.
Slot has matched the Premier League record for points earned in a manager’s first 11 games, but his priority remains focused on implementing his vision 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 said. “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.”
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