Having swept aside first Real Madrid and then Manchester City over the past week by a combined 4-0 scoreline and with an aggregate xG of 6.41 to 2.12, Arne Slot’s Liverpool head into the festive period flying high.
Top of both the Premier League and Champions League tables. Having beaten the two opponents who have most often thwarted them in England and Europe. Playing uptempo, attractive, and highly effective football.
Slot, though, doesn’t want anyone getting ahead of themselves. Because as good as this past week has been, it won’t mean much come the end of the season if this is Liverpool’s peak and they follow it up with a stumble.
“We’re really happy with these two wins,” he noted, “but we also understand if we want to achieve more then winning once or twice—even against these big teams—is not enough to win anything in the end of the season.
“I think if you want to win anything, it’s more about the consistency. A few teams maybe have beat City or Madrid once in a while, but it’s not about winning once or twice against them, it’s all about consistency.
“These teams–like Madrid and City but also Arsenal and I saw Chelsea today—are all capable of the kind of winning streak we have had so it’s about consistency, keeping the players fit, keeping them with energy.”
Liverpool have played well enough in Europe that Slot’s Reds are the first to secure a place in the knockout rounds—but they still haven’t secured bye to the Round of 16 and will have to win plenty more to make it to the final.
In the Premier League they have a commanding nine-point lead a third of the way into the season, giving them three more chances to stumble than the sides facing them. But they’re still two-thirds of the season left to play.
They have built a strong foundation for what comes next. They have given themselves a better chance than any of their rivals to secure major silverware come the end of the season. But they haven’t won anything yet.
“To win something in the end, there’s such a long way to go and so many challenges to take,” Slot added, with Newcastle up next. “But it’s good that we are capable of winning against these teams in our own style.”