Arne Slot unfazed by Liverpool's flying start

LONDON – Arne Slot has been asked this question several times in the past, but on Nov 8 he reiterated that he is not surprised by the outstanding start to his tenure at Liverpool. The Reds have taken the top spot in both the English Premier League and the Champions League, and Slot remains unfazed by their success.

The Dutch coach has won 14 and drawn one of his 16 matches in charge in all competitions as the holders have also progressed to the League Cup quarter-finals.

Slot had initially appeared to have a tough ask to follow Jurgen Klopp.

But he has built on the solid foundations left by the German after Liverpool finished third in the Premier League behind Manchester City and Arsenal last season.

“Surprise isn’t the right word I’d use because I knew the quality of our team,” he said as he looked ahead to hosting Aston Villa in the league on Nov 9.

“But quality is one thing, to be consistent is a second thing.

“From the moment I started working with them I saw how much energy they put in on a daily basis and that is I think the reason you can be consistent.”

Liverpool were inspired by the power of the Anfield crowd to come from behind to beat Brighton & Hove Albion 2-1 last weekend to move two points ahead of City at the top of the Premier League.

A similar atmosphere helped blow Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen away 4-0 in the Champions League in midweek.

Slot is keen to keep his players’ feet on the ground but is happy for the fans to get excited about the possibility of just a second league title in 35 years.

“If the end result of them being excited is to bring the atmosphere of the second half against Brighton and the whole game against Leverkusen, I am hoping they will keep being excited because that atmosphere helped us a lot,” added the former Feyenoord boss.

Diogo Jota remains sidelined but should return after November’s international break.

Villa, meanwhile, are sixth in the standings and have lost their last three matches in all competitions, including a 4-1 thrashing at the hands of Tottenham Hotspur last weekend.

But Slot is not expecting an easy challenge despite their opponents’ poor form, although he did not give too much away regarding his game plan.

“(Manager) Unai Emery has played in a similar style for years now. It is almost always the same formation but sometimes depends on the players,” he added.

“His idea about football has been the same always. If you ask me now if I expect Unai to change a lot, I would not expect that. In terms of personnel, he may change a bit, but it’s always been a 4-4-2 that he’s been playing for many years now.” AFP