National media make same serious claim about Liverpool after Aston Villa win

Liverpool already knew they would head into the November international break top of the Premier League table before they had even kicked off against Aston Villa on Saturday night. Manchester City’s 2-1 defeat at Brighton & Hove Albion secured their position, for another fortnight at least.

But the Reds extended their lead to five points as goals from Darwin Nunez and Mohamed Salah clinched a 2-0 victory over the Villans.

The ECHO was at Anfield to provide our usual mix of player ratings, post-match analysis and verdict, while our colleagues from the national media were also on hand to give their own considered takes.

READ MORE: Mohamed Salah contract demands revealed as Liverpool open 'serious negotiations'

READ MORE: FSG sent Mohamed Salah contract message with new Liverpool banner as Arne Slot gets what he deserves

‌And here's how they saw proceedings at Anfield...

The Times' Jonathan Northcroft reflected: “There was fevered talk about “Slotball” before Anfield’s new hero of the dugout arrived but it focused on the quality of Arne Slot’s attacking ideas. The talk was only half-right because here is a manager who instils the importance of defending as well.

“In a season where there are holes in their rivals’ games, it should be no surprise that Liverpool are top because they are the competition’s most complete team. Right now, Manchester City can’t defend and Arsenal can’t attack but Slot’s side do both.

“Here were another three points built on a clean sheet coupled with electric forward play. Still early days but Slot’s Liverpool look the real deal.

“Aston Villa were very good. They competed, poured forward and will feel they could have had at least a goal or two themselves but that made Liverpool’s performance in not just stopping but beating them all the more impressive. And so they are the leaders, the league’s most all-round team.”

Joe Bernstein of the Daily Mail mused: “It was Slot’s 15th win in 17 games since replacing the great Jurgen Klopp and he is in line to become the club’s first manager since Kenny Dalglish to lift the league title in his debut season.

“He doesn’t fist pump The Kop like his predecessor but the acclaim he received when he came onto the pitch at full-time was still euphoric.

“There is no doubt the Dutchman likes his teams to be more controlled than Klopp’s heavy metal but he’s not sacrificed all the thrills and spills - particularly when Liverpool are breaking at speed like the red arrows…

“Slot always said people should wait until they’d had a difficult run of fixtures against Chelsea, Arsenal, Bayer Leverkusen and now Villa. Three wins and a draw suggests they are the real deal.”

Chris Bascombe, of The Telegraph, wrote: “They are not singing about winning the league at Anfield yet, but Jurgen’s believers have rapidly become Arne’s disciples.

“On what might prove one of the most consequential early rounds in the title fight, all the Kop was missing was the celebratory fist pumps from their manager.

“Arne Slot looked like he might be tempted as he accepted the full-time acclaim for a thoroughbred performance to shrug aside Aston Villa, his side having seized the initiative in the latest championship tussle with Manchester City and Arsenal to complete the best seven days of a managerial era still in its infancy.

“The supporters’ craving the Dutchman dashing towards them and choreographing another chorus were not successful this time, but it has taken just three months for him to prompt their serenades. Slot’s 15th win from 17 games continues a seamless Anfield transition putting one in mind of Kevin Keegan handing over his number seven jersey to Kenny Dalglish.

“If this continues the more optimistic will be comparing Slot replacing Klopp to Joe Fagan following Bob Paisley, or Paisley following Bill Shankly.

“We must pause before driving that bandwagon. He will need the biggest trophies for such a statement to have credibility, but for sure he has this stadium stirring again, as if the first few months were a ‘getting to know each other period’ in a blossoming romance…

“But Liverpool remain a class above. ‘Liverpool top of the league,’ reverberated around the stadium. Even they didn’t believe the party would continue to keep bouncing along so soon post-Klopp.”

The Guardian's Andy Hunter said: “Any slip-up, whether 270 miles away in Brighton or inside the comfort of Anfield, and Mohamed Salah will pounce.

“The Liverpool forward ensured Arne Slot’s team took full advantage of Manchester City’s latest defeat, plus Aston Villa’s vulnerability to a counterattack, to extend their lead at the top of the Premier League.

“Early days, yes, but a five-point advantage, 15 wins in 17 matches under a new head coach and Salah’s sustained excellence have fuelled Liverpool’s belief.

“An unforeseen benefit of the 8pm kick-off, certainly from Liverpool’s perspective, was the time it allowed to digest City’s latest defeat.

“The sense of anticipation inside Anfield increased before kick-off. Liverpool’s players sensed it too, and began with the intensity that Slot had felt was lacking from the start against both Brighton and Bayer Leverkusen.”

Meanwhile, Richard Jolly of the Independent penned: “Top of the Champions League and now five points clear at the top of the Premier League, Arne Slot is the low-key appointment making Liverpool high-flyers.

“A 15th win in 17 games cemented a spectacular start for the Dutchman. Now Manchester City find themselves in second but as close in points to eighth-place Aston Villa as they are to Liverpool.

“And Villa have picked the wrong moment to emulate City. Normally it is an enviable achievement to be in the same form as Pep Guardiola’s side. Not now. Not when it means Villa, too, have suffered four consecutive defeats. Liverpool took one of the supposed strengths of Unai Emery’s side, set-pieces, and turned it into a weakness.

“For the second successive game, Slot chose his striker wisely. It was Luis Diaz against Bayer Leverkusen, an unconventional choice that reaped a dividend when the Colombian delivered the first hat-trick of his career. He duly reverted to the left wing as Darwin Nunez came back to deliver the opener against Villa, with Mohamed Salah doubling the lead.

“He can judge his attackers on how fast they run backwards. Yet it is a team going forward at some speed. ‘Liverpool, top of the league,’ rang around Anfield in injury time. Now it is a question of how long they can stay there and if they finish there.”

And finally, the ECHO’s own Paul Gorst wrote in his post-match verdict: “Whisper it quietly, but Liverpool supporters are starting to feel that something serious might just be stirring now under Arne Slot. And for good reason, the Reds will spend the international break on top of the Premier League, with a five-point buffer offering a plump cushion for added comfort.

“It's no wonder the Kop was singing Slot's name at full-time; the new head coach has enjoyed a sensational opening few months on Merseyside and even in his most optimistic of hopes, it won't have gone as smoothly as this…

“And if there was any further encouragement needed for high-level contract talks to reach a resolution with Salah's representatives from Liverpool's perspective, a banner unfurled in the Kop spoke a thousand words on behalf of the fanbase, directly to club owners Fenway Sports Group.

“'FSG, he fires a bow, now give him his dough' was the message in support of Salah and the new celebration he has rolled out this term. With 10 goals and as many assists for the season already, it's hard to argue against offering a considerably lucrative extension, particularly given his own manager believes Salah can emulate Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi by maintaining his status as a leading light of the game well into his late 30s. Your move, John W Henry…

“Emerge from December's run - which features Real Madrid, Man City, Everton, Newcastle United and Tottenham among others - in a similarly healthy state then people will really be starting to not just dream, but believe.”