“If you had asked Liverpool fans back in August would their team win the Premier League, most would have said no,” says former Liverpool goalkeeper Sander Westerveld.
Jurgen Klopp was always going to be the hardest of acts to follow as manager.
Liverpool supporters were understandably worried about the future when the charismatic German, whose force of personality and success gave him iconic status, announced in January 2024 he was leaving at the end of that season.
Who would undertake the seemingly impossible task of replacing Klopp? Would Liverpool tread water or even go backwards for a season or two while his successor settled into the job?
“Klopp was a sort of god who changed the club – not just on the pitch but the whole atmosphere,” says Westerveld.
Former Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso, who had taken Bayer Leverkusen to the brink of a first Bundesliga title, was strongly linked with an Anfield return before announcing he was staying in Germany and that paved the way for Arne Slot’s appointment.
“At that moment I didn’t even think about Arne,” adds fellow Dutchman Westerveld, who has remained friends with Slot since their playing days together at Sparta Rotterdam in 2007-08.
“Nobody in England knew an awful lot about him. Everybody who knows football said it was going to be a huge task and that this was an unknown coach who comes from the Netherlands.”
Yet the transition from Klopp to Slot has been seamless, culminating in Liverpool needing just one more point to win the championship for a record-equalling 20th time.
With 24 wins in 33 games and just two defeats, Slot’s Liverpool have made top spot their own after looking down on the rest of the Premier League since 2 November.
And now, if they avoid defeat against Tottenham on Sunday, they will be champions of England – with four games to spare – for just the second time since 1989-90.
Slot, who ruled himself out of the running to become the next Spurs boss while at Feyenoord in May 2023, would join an elite band of bosses in the Premier League era to have delivered the title in their first season in charge.
Jose Mourinho (2004-05) and Carlo Ancelotti (2009-10) both managed it at Chelsea before Manuel Pellegrini (2013-14) accomplished the feat at Manchester City. The last boss to do so before Slot was Antonio Conte – also at Chelsea – in 2016-17.
“Nobody expected this,” adds Ian Doyle, chief Liverpool writer for the Liverpool Echo. “In terms of an achievement for a manager in his first season at Liverpool, it has to be right up there.”
Neil Atkinson, presenter and CEO of Liverpool fans’ podcast and website The Anfield Wrap, adds: “I don’t think anyone wanted the new manager to come in and try to be a Jurgen Klopp tribute act.
“All Liverpool fans wanted was Slot to be himself – and that’s what he has been.”
Slot’s magic formula
In many ways, Slot’s main job has been to build on and improve the outstanding squad left behind by his predecessor, who averaged 80.33 points in his last three seasons at Anfield.
Four more victories would see Liverpool break the 90-point barrier after Slot tightened the defence and brought more control to the midfield.
“They’ve amassed these points by winning when it’s hard, winning when it’s ugly, winning when the opposition have put up a fight,” adds Atkinson.
“Liverpool have managed to do that – none of their rivals have.”
While Federico Chiesa has been the only addition to Slot’s squad for this season, the Dutch coach has improved players, including Ryan Gravenberch, who has grasped his opportunity at the base of Liverpool’s midfield after the club missed out on signing Martin Zubimendi from Real Sociedad.
With 27 Premier League goals and 18 assists in 33 appearances – compared to 18 goals and 10 assists in 32 appearances in Klopp’s final season, Mohamed Salah’s figures under Slot have been seriously impressive.
Gravenberch’s Netherlands team-mate Cody Gakpo has also provided 16 goals in all competitions in 2024-25, matching his tally from last season.
“In his first meeting with the players, Arne had all the data from the season they were champions in 2019-20 and all the data from the final season under Klopp,” adds Westerveld.
“Last season, compared to the title season, there were less sprints, the team was less effective. Instead of saying to the players, ‘come on, work hard’, he was telling them exactly what they had to do and needed to know showing them all the data.”
There have been tweaks off the field too, with Slot implementing a new routine to how his players build up to games.
Under Klopp, the day would begin later but this season players have been at the training ground in Kirkby, about six and a half miles from Anfield, at 9.15am for breakfast.
Slot and his backroom team have introduced a process known as ‘body wake-up’ which involves breathing exercises before both training and matches.
Under Klopp, the Liverpool squad would stay together in a hotel before home games. That is no longer the case, with players allowed to remain at their own homes.
Training sessions have been longer than before but less intense to reduce injury risk, with fitness issues undermining several campaigns in recent years.
In addition, Slot has made key hires behind the scenes.
Ruben Peeters, a specialist in periodisation (the science of optimising training loads), followed Slot from Feyenoord, Dr Jonathan Power was promoted to director of medicine and performance, while Amit Pannu joined as a new first-team doctor.
