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MONDAY | SEP 30, 2024

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Realistic Reds Slot plays down Liverpool’s ascent to top of EPL table

Liverpool’s Dominik Szoboszlai (right) in action with Wolverhampton Wanderers’ Mario Lemina during their English Premier League match yesterday. – REUTERSPIC

L IVERPOOL boss Arne Slot feels his side’s early ascent to the top of the Premier League is not a “realistic view” of the table. Life after Jurgen Klopp is not turning out to be too bad as the Reds climbed to the summit after goals from Ibrahima Konate and Mohamed Salah earned a 2-1 win at Wolves – their fifth victory in six League games. Defeat at home to Nottingham Forest a fortnight ago remains their only blip as they have also won in the Champions League and Carabao Cup in a promising beginning to Slot’s reign. It is early days, but the evidence suggests they have the capacity to challenge for the title alongside Manchester City and Arsenal. The Dutchman is calling for calm and says the table will not properly shape up until halfway through the campaign. “Everyone is realistic enough, all the players they understand that six games into the season doesn’t give you a realistic view on the League table,” Slot said. “That is more like 19 games that you can feel, ‘Right, where are we?.’ “But it helps if you get some good results, especially if you bring in a new manager and being a successor of such a successful one. “Everybody understands that if we’d have lost four or five of these first six fixtures life would have been a bit different to how it is now.” Slot added there are tougher days ahead, referencing Wolves’ tricky early-season fixtures. “We still have to prove that if we come across Arsenal, Newcastle, Chelsea and Aston Villa if we can still be up there, with Champions League games included as well,” he said. “I don’t think it’s necessary for me to convince the players for the challenges we still face. “To play in the Champions League and then play Arsenal and Aston Villa and all the top teams we are going to face after the next international

break. “For us there is a lot to prove, especially if you look at the season two years ago and it is almost completely the same group.” Sky Sports commentator Gary Neville named Ryan Gravenberch as the Man of the Match, much to goalscorer Konate’s displeasure. The defender jokingly complained to Sky Sports that he should have been handed the prize, before making a kissing gesture after finding out that it was Neville who made the decision. Speaking after the match, Konate joked: “ Sky Sports , who decides who is the Man of the Match? How is this possible? How is this possible? He (Gravenberch) is my brother so I have to give it to him.” Slot was quick to put Konate in his place, reminding the defender that it was his mistake that led to the hosts’ equaliser. “Konate (as Man of the Match)? Then probably he forgot the moment we conceded a goal! “Maybe that was the reason we conceded, he just wasn’t there at that moment. To say the least, it was avoidable.” Wolves, who briefly levelled through Rayan Ait Nouri’s goal in the second half, remain without a win in a difficult start to the season. Results are not matching performances but boss Gary O’Neil is proud of his side. “In terms of the team going toe to toe with one of the biggest clubs in the country and giving them a real run and showing what we are, I was proud of what the lads gave,” he said. “We deserve to be on more than one point from six games, but that is the nature of the Premier League. “It was a performance that the lads should be proud of. We need to keep going, they have suffered a lot over the last six games and we will be ready to go again. “We need to make sure we put some results on the board, I understand that and the lads understand. “Things haven’t gone as we would have wanted them but there is a real belief that we can maximise what we can achieve this season.” – The Independent/Express Newspapers

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