Arne Slot was right with Liverpool warning and sorry Man Utd just proved it
Arne Slot is keen not to get carried away at Liverpool, even though the Reds are top of the Premier League. Aside from the shock home defeat to Nottingham Forest, the Dutchman's start to life on Merseyside has gone perfectly.
Ipswich Town, Brentford, Manchester United, Bournemouth, AC Milan, West Ham and now Wolves have all been beaten. In total, Liverpool has only conceded four goals in that period and has generally looked in complete control of matches. Even when it hasn't played well, it hasn't been under masses of pressure and has usually avoided going a goal down.
But Slot warned after beating Wolves: "We still have to prove that when we come across Arsenal, Newcastle, Chelsea [and] Aston Villa [to see] if we can then still be up there with Champions League games included as well." That test will come after the October international break, but pass it and the title narrative will change.
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"The fixtures that are coming after the international break [Chelsea, Arsenal, Brighton and Aston Villa] are tougher fixtures than we have now," Slot had said in the build-up to the Wolves game. And, while Crystal Palace might want to pin that on the dressing room wall at Selhurst Park next Saturday, he isn't wrong.
The most impressive performance that Liverpool has put in to date has been its 3-0 win at Manchester United. But while that was a big game and one that the Reds deservedly came out on top in, it certainly wasn't anything close to the level of test that Arsenal will soon give Slot at the Emirates next month, or that Chelsea will bring to Anfield. Playing Brighton twice in two days (once in the Carabao Cup and then in the league) will also be a bigger challenge.
Manchester United, unsurprisingly given it kept Erik ten Hag as manager this summer and didn't bring in any players who particularly look like they are immediate game-changers in terms of quality, has carried on where it left off last season. The Old Trafford outfit finished eighth in the table last year for a reason and it showed that against Spurs, even with a second-half fightback.
Bruno Fernandes' red card didn't help matters but even prior to that happening, Manchester United was conceding chance after chance. Only Timo Werner's wastefulness prevented an even more embarrassing outcome.
Typically, Manchester United gives opponents 15-20 per game and the tactical plan that Ten Hag is aiming for is baffling. Liverpool should have exploited it twice last season but didn't; this year, it got its revenge.
Despite that, though, Slot is right about Liverpool's beginning. While the Reds delighted in winning there, Manchester United doesn't often count as a difficult game these days, even at Old Trafford.
Once a benchmark for being a title contender, victory there against this Manchester United should be close to a given, as Spurs have just proven again. Liverpool's start to the new era has been kind fixture-wise — but bigger tests, and a chance to prove the current table isn't lying, are just around the corner.