When Liverpool’s manager Arne Slot led the team to a record-tying 20th Premier League title on Sunday, he chanted the name of his predecessor, Jurgen Klopp. After overcoming a deficit, Liverpool defeated Tottenham 5-1 on a bright afternoon at Anfield. Slot’s team won the Premier League with four games remaining.
The Dutchman had a difficult act to follow after taking Klopp’s place last summer, but he dispelled any skeptics with an incredibly successful first season. In his goodbye speech to Anfield, Klopp sang Slot’s name as one of his last acts as manager of Liverpool. His successor felt it was only fitting to return the favor while speaking to the crowd.
“Because of what he did before I even arrived here—I think that is something not one manager has ever done before,” Slot said when asked subsequently why he made that gesture. That undoubtedly aided me, but aside from that, the team and culture he left behind within that team further aided me.
Arne Slot repays Jurgen Klopp’s favour after Liverpool title triumph
Slot’s response felt normal. It has never been about him. He was wise enough to avoid making too many changes. It’s a big job to replace Jurgen, and I believe the manager handled it in his own manner, Virgil van Dijk stated. Liverpool combined Klopp and Slot, and now that Van Dijk and Mohamed Salah have recently extended their contracts, certain members of the German team will be with the team for longer.
“Perhaps it helped that [Manchester] City had a difficult spell that they have not had in five years,” expressed Slot, who is always realistic. With a fantastic team, Klopp could have won more games. It was the champion side they faced, not their own weaknesses, that caused them to fail.
In seasons with 97 and 92 points, Pep Guardiola denied Klopp the championship, but he was quick to congratulate Slot and Liverpool. Salah and Van Dijk are two players who could already have won the Premier League four times. The fact that they were disappointed that they had only won it once worked in Slot’s favor. They were further motivated.
