Liverpool manager Arne Slot has warned his side against complacency despite their position at the summit of the Premier League, using Chelsea’s surprise 0-0 draw against Everton as a prime example of the traps that exist in each game.
The Reds have tended to be slow starters in Slot (only one of their first seven Premier League goals in December came in the first half) but tore through Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday night. With a deserved 2-0 lead heading into half-time, Liverpool were gifted a sloppy James Maddison goal in the 41st minute.
Dominik Szoboszlai restored LiverpoolTwo goals ahead in first-half stoppage time and Mohamed Salah grabbed a quick-fire brace to make it 5-1 on the hour mark, but the Merseyside side allowed Spurs to claw their way back into the game. Luis Diaz made it 6-3 in the closing stages of a largely one-sided performance, but Slot was not entirely impressed.
“For 60 minutes we did everything we had to do,” said the Dutch coach. “We were comfortable and good on the ball, but the most important thing is that we worked very, very hard. And then the same players with the same quality thought that 10-15 minutes without working hard was good enough.”
Slot continued: “You know as well as I do, having won the league once, how hard it is to win it. You have to keep going every three days. You have to be on top of your game every time. minute of match
“That’s why it’s so difficult to win it, because it’s not so easy to show up every three or four days. You see last week, in one moment you can get the red card. These things can happen in a season. In Newcastlewe’re 3-2 up and you expect to win it, but we lose two points.”
Liverpool’s win over Spurs gives them a four-point lead at the top of the table Premier League tablebut they could have started their trip to north London in second place if Chelsea had beaten Everton on Sunday afternoon. The Blues were actually subject to aa frustrating drawwhich Slot used to support his argument.
“This is the Premier League,” mused the Liverpool manager. “I didn’t expect Chelsea to drop points today too, so it can happen in every game and that’s what makes this league so special. That’s why people want to watch it and that’s why we play at Christmas.”
