Arne Slot said Liverpool fans can “sing what they want” after their chants of “We’re going to win the league” during a 2-0 win at Manchester City, adding that he doesn’t yet believe that the Premier League title is bound for Anfield.
First-half goals from Mohamed Salah and Dominik Szoboszlai sealed a comfortable win against Pep Guardiola’s side, that moved Liverpool 11 points clear of second-placed Arsenal, who have played one game fewer, at the top of the table.
With Liverpool having seven of their remaining 11 league games at Anfield, Slot’s side seem on course to win the club’s first title since 2020.
But Slot, who succeeded Jürgen Klopp as coach after leaving Feyenoord last summer, said the Premier League is still too competitive for Liverpool to believe that the title is won.
“The fans can sing whatever they want, but we know how hard we have to play for every single win,” Slot said. “So I don’t believe that [the title is won]. It’s so hard to judge the league table before every game has been played.
“If you play against City at the Etihad and win, it is always a big win, but three days ago we had a draw at Aston Villa and people told me we weren’t in a good place. Then three days later we win and it changes again.
“We know how hard it was to beat Wolves last week and we have Newcastle next after a 3-3 draw at Newcastle, so every game is difficult.
“In any other league, this lead would be comfortable, but not this one. Even the [FA Cup] game at Plymouth showed us that.”
Slot has taken Liverpool into a commanding position at the top of the table despite adding just one player — Italy forward Federico Chiesa — to the squad he inherited from Klopp.
He said that he was confident his side could challenge for the title despite many observers writing off Liverpool’s chances at the start of the season.
“No-one saw us as title contender at the start and nobody expected City to be so far off the top of the league,” Slot said. “But I always felt we had a lot of quality, which is why we didn’t bring players in, apart from Chiesa.
“But we work every single day to achieve this and it is three months of very hard work to maintain this.
“There is no secret. We are 11 points clear, but Arsenal has one game in hand and there will always be difficult games, like today.
“It is easier for us to not get excited because we know what we have to put in. This result was more about defence than attack.
“All of the players want to achieve something this season. The boys have worked really hard every single day and hope and assume they will do that for next three months too.”
