Liverpool has won the Premier League title, and Arne Slot will lift the trophy most coveted by Reds fans at the first time of asking. His first campaign at the helm as gone better than pretty much anyone dared to expect.
Last season, Liverpool finished on 82 points under Jurgen Klopp, in the title race until April but ultimately coming behind both Manchester City and Arsenal. And Slot did not shy away from his initial task: to build on that and ensure that the players and the points total improved.
“Definitely,” he told the Reds’ official website in his first interview when he was asked if getting a higher points total was the aim. “I think 82 points is a result of [the] playing style.
“Always the points you get are always a result of the way you play. I’ve seen many games already; I’ve seen many training sessions as well.
“Of course the fans can see the games, so they know we have some very good players. But I’ve also seen a lot of training sessions already and I think this is where you bring the culture, and they are always working hard — like the fans see during the game.
“[A] real good team, real good players, managed to be on top for a very long time, but I think in the end we would all love to see Liverpool a bit higher than third place and this is the challenge we are facing now — to build on from what we have.
“I have all the confidence in this because of the players, that we can add a few things where we hopefully can get a bit more points than 82, which is necessary with the likes of Arsenal and City, to end up hopefully a bit higher than we did this season.”
With four games to play — now having beaten Spurs — Liverpool has matched its points total from last year. It could yet finish on a maximum of 94, which would be two points more than Manchester United has ever won in a single Premier League campaign.
Slot never once entertained the idea that his team might need a transition season or that there would be teething problems — at least to the level that it would hold Liverpool back. Instead, he has quietly gotten on with improving key members of his squad.
Ryan Gravenberch has kicked on to another level entirely, while Cody Gakpo and Luis Diaz are among those who have improved. Mohamed Salah, meanwhile, has hit new heights.
The Liverpool boss has confidence in the group that he inherited, and he was right about that. Now, his next challenge is to ensure that the Reds improve again when they go into the new season as title favorites.
