Arne Slot vows to Liverpool after eight points clear of Manchester City

Arne Slot reacted after his Liverpool side came from behind to win 3-2 at Southampton to move eight points clear at the top of the Premier League.

Arne Slot has dismissed fears Liverpool could be carried away at the top of the Premier League after they went eight points clear on a dramatic day at Southampton. Mohamed Salah scored twice in the second half as the Reds came from behind to win 3-2 on the South Coast on Sunday.

Dominik Szoboszlai gave Liverpool a deserved lead on the half-hour, but Adam Armstrong and Mateus Fernandes scored either side of the break to put the Saints’ shock victory in jeopardy.

But the Reds’ comeback means they have now won 10 of their first 12 games of the Premier League season, with only two teams previously having made that start twice without winning the title.

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And head coach Slot said: “We know what we had to put into it to get the edge we have at the moment to get these wins.

“There were one or two games where we won by big margins, but all the others were by small margins.

“We know how difficult it is to win a game. These players have been in the Premier League for a long time and just recently Arsenal were leading by eight points and City were back.

“You know, if you meet Arsenal, City, Chelsea, Tottenham, they were great yesterday, they are all capable of winning so many games in a row. It’s nice to have that position, but we’re definitely not going to get carried away.”

On the victory, Slot added: “We are very happy, especially after we were 2-1 down an hour later. It probably didn’t reflect how the first hour went because we dominated the whole game and that’s not easy.

“I’ve seen a lot of Southampton games where they dominated. If you’re 2-1 down at the end of the hour, you’re over the moon, maybe if you win 3-2.”

Southampton’s first goal came when Armstrong scored from the rebound after Caoimhin Kelleher’s penalty was saved. The penalty was awarded when Andy Robertson fouled Tyler Dibling and VAR confirmed referee Sam Barrott’s view that the incident occurred inside the penalty area, despite replays suggesting the initial contact had occurred outside.

“For me, when it comes to offside and deciding whether the ball is inside or outside the box, it’s just black or white,” Slot said. “It was a foul, that was clear. So if they see it’s inside, it’s a penalty.

“Sometimes a knock can be a yes or a no or a red card. There was an incident in the first half (when Adam Lallana was booked for a foul on Ryan Gravenberch) where it could be argued that it was a yes or no red card. One can argue with these things.

“But offside, inside or outside the 18-yard box, is something you can’t argue with. But it was a small gap – like our whole season.”