Liverpool boss Arne Slot has given his take on Aston Villa's return to form following their poor start to the campaign
Liverpool manager Arne Slot
Liverpool manager Arne Slot(Image: PA)
View Image
Arne Slot claims he is not surprised by Aston Villa’s dramatic turnaround in form.
Unai Emery’s side failed to win any of their opening six matches in all competitions, before going on to claim six victories in their last seven games.
Only a shock defeat at Go Ahead Eagles has interrupted Villa’s recent momentum, with wins over Bologna, Fulham, Feyenoord, and Burnley coming before the October international break.
Victories over Tottenham away and Manchester City at home came either side of their third Europa League match in Deventer, before attention turned to a trip to Anfield.
Their opponents, Liverpool, are looking to avoid losing five consecutive league matches for the first time since September 1953. Remarkably, they are the first side in English top-flight history to win their first five matches of a season and then lose each of their next four.
While no team in the Premier League is currently on a longer losing run than Liverpool (four matches), no side is on a longer winning run than Villa (also four). The Villans could become only the second side in top-flight history to fail to win any of their first five games of a season and then win five in a row — after Preston North End in 1936–37.
Most outsiders might suggest that direct football and long balls offer Villa their best chance of getting a result at Anfield on Saturday night. However, Slot was quick to highlight that they pose other threats — as demonstrated in their impressive victory over Manchester City last weekend.
“Chelsea played their game, playing it out from the back, and we didn’t win that one as well,” Slot said when asked about possibly dealing with less long balls against Villa and then Man City.
“Again, when people ask me after the game, ‘why was it difficult?’ I will try to explain why it was difficult. I will answer why. People don’t ask me to come up with excuses, and then I give an answer.
“I try to explain why a match is difficult, and it was only for the first time after Manchester United because the games before that, I felt a little bit stupid to say so because I wasn’t 100 per cent sure if everyone was already noticing what we were noticing.
“I underestimate a lot of analysts throughout the country, but if it happens after the 10th game, and nine of them were focused on long balls, it is fair that if you ask me, ‘why was it difficult?’ — without opening the eyes of the opponents.
“These two teams we face now use the ball more out from the back, but they are also really good at it. I think City is a high-pressing team, but I did see Villa being able to play through that multiple times.
“If I am 100 per cent correct, and I think I am, they won a game by a set piece. So, that’s the importance of a set piece.”
Speaking about Villa’s turnaround in form, Slot said: “It’s a sign that they did it better than we did it! If you don’t win in the beginning, people may talk about not having the same team as last season, but then they start to win, and then everything is very positive again.
“Whereas with us, it is exactly the opposite. We are both on the same points and, apart from Arsenal, many teams are in and around the same positions, which shows how hard the Premier League is.
“They’ve done very well in the last five, six, seven or eight games. That did not come as a surprise because even in the games they lost before, you could already see the signs that they are a very good team.
“Their playing signs are very good, and normally — although the run with us is quite long — every time you lose a game but create more chances than the other team, they decided not to make a habit out of that.
“Let’s hope we don’t make a habit out of having more chances than the opponent, but not win.”
Every day, the BirminghamLive football desk strive to deliver all manner of news, features and transfer-related stories as a part of our overall package of Aston Villa content.
Our dedicated reporter John Townley - who you can follow on X by clicking here - follows Villa home and away and offers you comprehensive coverage from matchdays, press conferences and everything that happens in between.
So much happens day to day and sometimes you can struggle to keep on top of the very latest updates as and when they occur - that's why we have produced a daily newsletter which you can sign up to, for free, and which means you'll have a round-up of the key stories land in your email inbox. Sign up to the Villa newsletter here.
You can also get all your favourite content from BirminghamLive's Villa team on WhatsApp. Click here to sign up for breaking updates about the biggest stories in and around the club.
If you prefer reading our Villa stories on your phone, consider downloading the BirminghamLive app, in which you can personalise the content you see by selecting Villa as one of your designated topics. You can get it from Apple here and for Android here.
Our weekly Aston Villa podcast, Claret And Blue, is also available to watch and listen on all major streaming services. You can subscribe to the YouTube channel here, while you can access the podcast on Spotify here and via Apple here.
Content Image
Content Image