Arne Slot makes feelings clear on Premier League title race after Man City crisis

Liverpool edged Aston Villa 2-0 on Saturday to go five points clear in the Premier League table thanks to Manchester City's latest stumble.

Darwin Nunez and Mo Salah both scored off of opposing counters to secure victory on an otherwise nervy day.

Saturday's performance was far from the dominant 4-0 thumping Liverpool gave Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday in the Champions League. However, Arne Slot's men picked up three points and Pep Guardiola's side gained none with their 2-1 defeat to Brighton.

Slot has now won nine of his first 11 Premier League games. With both City and Mikel Arteta's Arsenal in poor runs of form, the Reds have taken the opportunity to create some daylight in the title race.

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Impressively, Liverpool has stayed top despite facing Chelsea, Arsenal, Brighton, and Villa in its last four Premier League efforts. Slot acknowledged post-match how "small" the margins are in the Premier League, so every result matters.

"We are really happy that most of our players have stayed fit through this tough run," Slot said. "We have to wait and see how Trent is doing."

"If I look at the games that are ahead, they are tough. It will be a tough season in general. Margins are small, we have a margin, but it is small. Many challenges to come for us."

Alexander-Arnold came off injured in the first half and was replaced by Conor Bradley. His status for the upcoming international break is still up in the air.

Fortunately, Slot and company have an in-form Salah to thank for carrying the team. The Egyptian forward has scored in four straight league fixtures and is up to 18 goal involvements in all competitions.

"I think he has the best numbers from all our attackers," Slot said of his dynamic forward. "All our attackers have great numbers, but Mo stands out in that aspect."

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Both Salah and Nunez's goals came from Aston Villa corner. That was unsurprising to Slot: "The set pieces are for someone else. It is not the first time Liverpool score from breaks like that because we have players who are so fast."

"They threatened us mainly with their set-pieces which is a big strength for them. They were waiting and waiting for us to lose our patience and then to hurt us on the counter-attack," he continued.

"The funny thing is we had so much possession and scored our goals from counter-attacks. It was an even game when it comes to chances, but we dominated the ball more than they did."