Arne Slot greeted the tranquility that his players showed after what we called “mental challenges” as Liverpool expanded the lead at the top of the Premier League in 13 points with a 2-0 win in Newcastle in Anfield.
The goals by Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister secured the victory for the Slot team against a side of Newcastle who fought in the absence of striker Alexander Isak.
Arsenal’s indefinable impasse against Nottingham Forest meant that the Reds had expanded their lead on the table by two points with the remaining ten games.
Liverpool’s boss watched the game from the kiosks as he served the first from the two-game Touchline ban, after receiving a red card in the full-time 2-2 draw with Everton.
And while he saw areas for improvement, the reception was happy with the appearance of his players.
“Maybe it was because it was our fifth game in 15 days. I saw a few times when we are fighting with the ball a little,” the reception admitted.
“But the players’ work rate after so many games was incredible. Not only those who started but from those who came in.
“So again, it wasn’t just a very good performance of the team, but a very good performance of the team.”
Get Innn !!! 😍 #Livnew pic.twitter.com/mow48nyhbj
– Liverpool FC (@LFC) 26 February 2025
The Dutch manager was also willing to emphasize how he believed his players handled the growing pressure coming with league leaders for so long.
“After Everton, after the villa and the Wolves game, people began to doubt some things about our game,” Slot said. “But we reacted so well against the city and suddenly everyone was so positive again.
“For all the mental challenges we had, the players kept calm and did the things to do and this makes it the most difficult for the other team to play against us.
“Most of the time our quality makes the difference.”
Liverpool’s boss refused to be drawn to talk about the elevation of the title, insisting that there is a “long way” and that his team “does not focus in the long run”.
But the reception was quick to praise Szoboszlai’s work, adding that the Hungarian “runs for two players”.
“This is worth even more credit than scoring a goal. But it’s nice to start scoring goals, because in the end you have to do as an aggressive midfielder wearing the Liverpool shirt.”
