Arne Slot has insisted it is too soon to talk about Liverpool being genuine Premier League title contenders, as he instead urged his side to prove they can produce consistently on multiple fronts.
Liverpool sit top of the table after beating Wolves on Saturday evening, as Mohamed Salah scored a second-half penalty after Ibrahima Konate’s headed opener had been cancelled out by Rayan Ait-Nouri.
The Reds have now won seven out of eight matches in all competitions under Slot, seeing off AC Milan in the Champions League and moving a point ahead of Arsenal and Manchester City domestically.
However, Slot called for a “realistic” view of Liverpool’s situation, pointing to the fact that even under Jurgen Klopp it has been a number of seasons since this set of players mounted a serious title challenge while also competing in the Champions League.
“I always try to be realistic,” Slot told Sky Sports.
“Jurgen’s work has been incredible over here. Everybody knows this and everybody underlines that. But two years ago was the last time they played Champions League and I think they ended up fifth.
“Last season was a season you could almost say without playing Europe, because every time during the week the players that played in the weekend got some rest.
“Now we have to prove [in a] similar season like two years ago, with [nearly] the same players, that we can do well in the Champions League and the Premier League.
“That’s something in my opinion we still have to prove with almost the same players as two years ago, when the result was not what Liverpool supporters would have loved to see.”
The fixture list does become more difficult for Liverpool in October, with Arsenal, Chelsea, Brighton and RB Leipzig among the tests to come in the weeks ahead.
Slot insisted his players “still have a lot to prove” in those matches, for all he is positive about the way the squad have got behind him since his arrival in the summer.
“The results in pre-season helped, the players started to believe in what you want,” Slot said.
“But it’s not that strange they believe in what we want because there are a lot of similarities to what they are used to when they were really successful with Jurgen.”
He added: “We still have a lot to prove if we are going to come across the top sides in the table. A lot to improve but it is good that we have these points and we are where we are at the moment.”
