Liverpool are having a dream start to life under manager Arne Slot, setting record after record while staying atop the Premier League eight games into the season. The Reds picked their latest win on the road against RB Leipzig midweek as they maintain a perfect record in the Champions League.
There couldn’t have been many people willing to put their money on the Dutchman making such an immediate impact at Anfield following Jurgen Klopp’s departure after a successful stint. But with six wins in as many games on the road this season, Slot’s side hit a milestone that no team in the club’s 132-year history has ever achieved. Furthermore, he has become the first manager to win up to 11 out of his first games in charge in all competitions in the history of English football’s first division.
In addition to sitting at the top of the Premier League table, the Reds, alongside Aston Villa, are the only team in the Champions League with the maximum nine points from the three games played so far. Slot acknowledges the importance of setting new records at a historic club like Liverpool. But he also knows it’s hardly enough. He said, “So many great teams have worn this shirt, so many great managers have been at this club. So if you can achieve something that hasn’t been achieved before, it is almost impossible at a big club like this. To achieve it is always nice.
“Records are nice, but there is something else that is more nice than records and we both know what I mean, I think, that’s trophies.”
A coach can only be as good as his players. The team Slot inherited at Anfield is a stuff of dream for most coaches. But the real deal is how he gets this team, a perfect mix of veterans and newbies, to play for him. Captain Virgil van Dijk offers an insight. He said, “He just has to keep going, keep improving us, keep showing what he wants from us, and have fun with it — and I think we are showing that on the pitch. But the season is so long. We’ll stay humble and keep going.”
The Reds, after obtaining all three points against Chelsea last weekend will be up against another rival come Sunday. Arsenal, coming off the back of their defeat to Bournemouth will be desperate to get a result against Liverpool, whose position on the table is under constant threat from Manchester City.
