No, Arne Slot is not a killjoy, just a demanding coach. His team, beaten only once in 25 meetings since the start of the season, has just spent 6 at Tottenham, a big player in the championship despite its position in the standings, which the Dutch tactician declared in the post-match conference, very serious : “I think we could have scored more”.
Never satisfied, the Dutchman, successor to Jürgen Klopp, who has so far made a debut that even the German, legend of Anfield where he won everything, has not experienced. “It was total domination, we often outplayed them, it was perhaps our best away match of the season with the one against Manchester United”Slot still rejoiced while remembering the trip to Old Trafford (3-0) at the beginning of September.
Salah, stratospheric and historical
There was something to smile about, in fact, at the end of a crazy match where his Reds put on a great show against Ange Postecoglu's team (3-6) at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. But it is also this requirement which explains the success of the former Feyenoord coach on the banks of the Mersey. His arrival also coincides with the return to the highest level of Mohamed Salah, who finished a little more discreetly than usual last season (only one goal in the last 7 Premier League matches).
Double scorer and double passer this Sunday, the Egyptian, directly involved in 33 goals in 24 matches (18 goals, 15 assists) in all competitions since the start of the season, never stops tormenting opposing goalkeepers and writing History. Becoming the first player to have at least 10 goals and 10 assists in the PL before Christmas, he also became the only player to achieve this feat so often across the Channel (sixth season, one more than Wayne Rooney).
“He is always there to help his teammates, (…) he understands the effort it takes to be at the top level every three days, he works hard for that”praised Arne Slot, also logically highlighting the performance of Luis Diaz, also author of a double. Before taking everyone the wrong way, again: “It would be unfair, given his performance, not to mention Dom [Szoboszlai] also because, beyond what he contributed offensively (a goal), he was also a very important element of our game plan without the ball, he did it very well”.
No matter how good the players we have, if they think they don't have to run anymore…
In all this euphoria, he did not fail to remind his players of a few principles: “I was happy that we were leading 5-1. But then we also see that, no matter how good the players we have, if they think they don't have to run anymore, in this championship , especially against Tottenham, the opposing teams created chances, which is what they did by scoring twice.. Back at 5-3, it is still difficult to see how the Spurs could have come back.
a Boxing Day that could restart everything
The requirement, always. Because his team, as impressive as it is, is “only” 4 points ahead of Chelsea as Boxing Day approaches. “We always prefer to be where we are at this time of the season. But you know like me, because I won a championship (in 2023, with Feyenoord, Editor's note), that it is so hard to win. (. ..) You have to be on top of your game every three days, every minute.”.
He was speaking to the journalists present at a press conference but it was as if he were speaking to his players, aware that, however good the first part of the season was, everything could change at Christmas. The proof is that Liverpool came out on top at this time of the year for the 21st time in their history and only ended up winning 11 times. But rest assured, as the holidays approach, with this glutton of Slot, Liverpool does not seem to have lost its appetite.
