Liverpool head coach Arne Slot insisted his Premier League leaders needed no motivation from Manchester City’s defeat at Brighton to beat Aston Villa and take a five-point lead into the international break.
A sense of opportunity swept through Anfield just before kick-off following news of the defending champions’ loss on the south coast but Slot said that was not the driving factor behind their 2-0 win – the 15th victory in 17 games this season.
“I cannot tell what the fans felt, I can only say if my players need extra motivation that would not be a good idea,” said the Dutchman.
Another clean sheet 👊❌ pic.twitter.com/yEIHLWrYtY
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) November 9, 2024
“If you play at Anfield in front of your own fans you should only be motivated. You should not need motivation from another match.”
Liverpool’s 28 points from 11 matches has been bettered only once in the last 34 seasons, in 2019-20 when they had 31 points at the same stage and went on to win the league comfortably.
Having beaten Bayer Leverkusen on Tuesday to make it four wins from four in the Champions League, just days after coming from behind to defeat Brighton, it has been a significant week in Slot’s short Anfield career.
But he is not getting carried away by his rivals’ slip-ups as he is aware fortunes can quickly change.
“It was definitely a big week but every game is,” he added.
“Hopefully we will have a lot of these weeks to come. We are trying to compete for the league, for the Champions League and for the cups as well.
“We also know it is a long season as well and the likes of Arsenal, Chelsea and City are capable of winning so many games in 17 as we did.”
The only downside to the victory, secured by goals from Darwin Nunez and Mohamed Salah, was a hamstring injury to Trent Alexander-Arnold which is likely to rule him out of England’s forthcoming Nations League matches.
“That is difficult to say how serious it is but it is always a serious if a player goes out in the first half,” said Slot.
“He asked for it because he felt something, so that is first of all not a good sign.
“It is always difficult so close after the game to tell you exactly what it is but let’s wait and see.
“I would be surprised if we will see him playing for the England national team this week but hopefully he can.”
For the first time Villa have lost four successive matches under manager Unai Emery.
“Obviously the result is not good but how we played I am confident. I am confident because I think we are in the right way after this match,” he said.
“We wanted to get points but today against Liverpool we can accept the result because they are really feeling strong at home and not really dominating and creating chances against us.
“They won and we accept it.”
Villa had two penalty appeals in the second half, one for a shirt pull on Pau Torres and another for a foul on the defender.
“For me it was clearly a penalty because he pulled the shirt of Pau Torres. I know that in Europe this is a penalty, but here in England they want to use VAR,” he said.
“In this situation it was clear. I always respect the decisions of referees and I accept it, but for me, when I watched it, with VAR it was a clear penalty.
“It was a very important moment in the game because if we could have the chance to shoot the penalty, maybe the match would have been different.
“I accept the result and the referee’s decision (but) I don’t agree.”
Team AnalysisVietnam The two-legged finals include home and away games. Vietnam will be at home first, and they hope to grab the advantage in goal difference, with strong morale.Vietnamese naturalized forward Nguyen Xuan Son scored twice in the last game. He made his first cap for Vietnam in this ASEAN Championship, giving 5 goals and 2 assists in his three starting games so far, and he is leading...
Let's start our Daily Laugh today. Epl week 19 LOL When you spot it Show yourselves. Next match: Supercoppa Italiana Semi-Final: Juventus FC vs AC Milan. Cristiano Ronaldo has Scored 97 GOALS since the start of 2023! Bro Traveled with his Mom all the way from Mongolia to Old Trafford.. ... only to watch Manchester United drop another stinker and lose again. Gotta feel for him and all the Manchest...
Amorim admits Man Utd will NOT have money to spend in JanuaryRuben Amorim has revealed Manchester United will not have money to spend in the January transfer window despite the need for new signings.Speaking candidly to reporters on Monday night about the possibility of January transfers, Amorim stated, "We don't have that possibility in January. You know the situation better than I [do]. It's not...
Liverpool star Trent Alexander-Arnold has been called out by Jamie Carragher after claiming he encouraged Real Madrid to submit a bid for him in January.The Reds have reportedly turned down an attempt from Real Madrid to secure the services of the right-back in the January transfer window.Liverpool star Trent Alexander-Arnold has been called out by Jamie CarragherAlexander-Arnold will be free to n...
Man United star Antony could leave the Premier League club during the January transfer window, and the winger may be offered a way out by a La Liga team. The agent of Antony admitted that several clubs have made approaches for the Brazilian ahead of the January window as the 24-year-old looks for a way out of Old Trafford having fallen out of favour in Manchester.Ruben Amorim vowed to help Antony ...
Barcelona could lose Dani Olmo for the second half of the season after LaLiga said the Catalan club are not in a position to extend the Spain international's registration ahead of Tuesday's deadline.Olmo, 26, joined Barca in the summer and was granted a temporary registration until Dec. 31, giving Barca time to comply with the league's financial fair play rules and prolong his registration until t...
Newcastle's Trippier to be sold in JanuaryNewcastle United could sell Kieran Trippier with a January move abroad on the cards, three years after he first joined the club.Williams and Isak headline Arsenal shortlistNico Williams and Alexander Isak are both under consideration as Arsenal aim to sign a wide forward in January.Could Spurs cancel Werner's loan?Tottenham could cancel Timo Werner's loan ...
Team AnalysisBrentfordBrentford scored 12 goals in the last 5 home games with a great offense.Brentford ended 3 of the last 4 games with UNDER. The percentage of UNDER has rebounded.Brentford are seriously hit by injuries so far. Major goalkeeper Mark Flekken and defender Ben Mee are doubtful with injuries, while Sepp van den Berg and Ethan Pinnock are unavailable with injuries.Brentford drew 0-0 ...
Christopher Nkunku and Mikel Arteta (Photo by Alex Grimm, Julian Finney/Getty Images)Christopher Nkunku remains eager to leave Chelsea in the forthcoming January transfer window, sources have told CaughtOffside.The French attacker has been delegated a role in the club’s ‘B Team’ this campaign, leaving him frustrated. He has only featured in 326 minutes of Premier League action so...
Martin Zubimendi with the Spain national team.The 2024/25 campaign has not gone to plan for Man City and in order to salvage what they can of the season, the Premier League champions are looking to bring Real Sociedad’s Martin Zubimendi to the Etihad. Pep Guardiola is currently facing a crisis that he has never experienced before in his managerial career as the Spaniard’s team sit fift...
