Liverpool chairman shares what he really thought about Arne Slot after his first game as manager

Add as preferred source on Google

Liverpool chairman Tom Werner has revealed whether he thought Arne Slot would win the Premier League after his first match at Anfield.

The Dutchman became the tenth manager in the club’s history to win the league title in his maiden campaign in English football.

Slot joined predecessor Jurgen Klopp as the only two managers to win the Premier League, moving the Reds level with arch-rivals Manchester United on 20 league titles won.

Liverpool have begun their defence of the English crown in scintillating fashion as Mohamed Salah’s 95th-minute winner against Burnley continued the trend of late goals at Anfield.

The Reds relied on Virgil van Dijk to score the match-winner in the 92nd minute against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League, as they continue to find ways to win.

And now Werner has reflected on when the Liverpool boss first took to the dugout and whether he believed Slot would win the league title on his first attempt.

Tom Werner had confidence in Arne Slot right away at Liverpool

When speaking on the “It’s Called Soccer” podcast, Werner revealed that the club had confidence in Slot almost immediately, believing he was the right man to deliver success at Anfield.

“I think that I want to give uh great credit to Richard Hughes and Michael Edwards because they identified Arne right away as their top uh their top choice. And they were not trying to duplicate the extraordinary qualities of Jurgen.

“They were looking for somebody who could bring their own ideas. And you know, there were a lot of similar ideas, you know, the same kind of attacking football, the same kind of uh uh strategy, but uh Arne was at the top of the list for all the reasons that um you know, he’s demonstrated.

“And you know, people say, ‘Was it a surprise to you that we won the league?’ I mean, we were all delighted, but we had great confidence even in the first match that he was the right guy to succeed.”

Slot demonstrated his ruthless streak during the first match of his tenure, as the Liverpool boss substituted Jarell Quansah at half-time during the 2-0 win against Ipswich Town last season.

This trend has continued into his second year, as Milos Kerkez was removed during the first half at Turf Moor on Sunday – both decisions were made for tactical reasons, rather than injury concerns.

While the boss has been lauded for his incredible achievements at Anfield, the expectation remains as high as ever, following the Reds’ summer spending of approximately £450 million to bolster the title-winning squad.

Slot has made history at Liverpool during his short reign, and while the Reds look well on course to mount another Premier League title challenge this season, they are predicted to win multiple trophies this year.

Liverpool are the favourites to win the Champions League

According to the Opta Analyst supercomputer, Liverpool are comfortably the favourites to win their seventh Champions League title this season.

The Reds stand a 20.4% chance of winning the European Cup, 4.4% more likely than their Premier League rivals, Arsenal, and 8.3% more likely than last year’s winners, Paris Saint-Germain.

Indeed, Liverpool’s last success in the competition came in 2019, but Klopp reached the final on two more occasions in 2018 and 2022, losing to Real Madrid in both finals.

And now that the Reds supporters have enjoyed a league title win free of Covid-19 restrictions, they are more eager than ever to see the club add another Champions League trophy.