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Liverpool manager Arne Slot has warned his side against complacency, despite their position at the top of the Premier League, using Chelsea’s surprise 0-0 draw against Everton as a prime example of the pitfalls that exist in every game.
The Reds have typically started slowly under Slot – only one of their first seven Premier League goals in December came in the first half – but stormed into Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday night. Having a deserved 2-0 lead before half-time, Liverpool conceded a sloppy goal from James Maddison in the 41st minute.
Dominik Szoboszlai restored LiverpoolA two-goal lead in first-half stoppage time and Mohamed Salah made it 5-1 with a quick-fire strike on the hour mark, but the Merseyside side let Spurs into the game again. Luis Diaz made it 6-3 in the final stages of a mostly one-sided performance, but Slot was not entirely impressed.
“We did everything we had to do in 60 minutes,” said the Dutch coach. “We were comfortable and good with the ball, but the main thing is that we worked very, very hard. And then the same players with the same quality thought that 10-15 minutes of no effort was good enough.”
Slott 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 at the top of your game every minute of the game.
“That’s why it’s so hard to win it, because it’s not that easy to turn up every three or four days. You see last week, you can get a red card at a moment’s notice. These things can happen in a season. In Newcastlewe are leading 3-2 and you expect us to win, but we lose two points.”
With the victory over Spurs, Liverpool leads with four points at the top Premier League tablebut they could have started their trip to north London in second place had Chelsea beaten Everton on Sunday afternoon. In reality, the Blues were held to a frustrating drawwith which Slot supported his argument.
“It’s the Premier League,” mused the Liverpool boss. “I didn’t expect Chelsea to drop points even today, so it can happen in every game and that’s what makes this league so special. That’s why people want to see it and that’s why we’re playing at Christmas time.”
