London: Liverpool manager Arne Slot admitted he was not surprised by his team’s excellent start to the season, as he was already aware of the strength of the team he inherited when he arrived at Anfield as Juergen Klopp’s replacement.
Slott’s side, who have won 14 out of 16 games in all competitions since he took over, are expected to remain at the top of the Premier League when they host Aston Villa in the early hours of Sunday morning.
Liverpool now have a two-point lead over defending champions Manchester City.
They are also top of the Champions League group as the only team to win four games from all meetings.
“I think ‘surprised’ is not the right word because I know the quality of our team.
“But quality is one thing and consistency is another. I’m not surprised because I see the energy my players give every day.
“Sometimes, a bit of luck helps. Most of our results were deserved but there were a few close matches,” he added.
“(Also) when I started working with them, I saw how hard they worked to achieve this result,” Slot told reporters.
Slot does not expect striker Diogo Jota, who has been sidelined since Liverpool’s 2-1 win over Chelsea on October 20 due to injury, to return until after the international break.
Slot did not elaborate on Jota’s injury and stated that it had to keep the cause a secret.
“He will be back one or two games after the international break,” he said.
Curtis Jones, named in interim England manager Lee Carsley’s squad for the upcoming internationals, has been in excellent form in recent weeks.
Jones created a beautiful pass for Luis Diaz to score in Liverpool’s 4-0 Champions League win over Bayer Leverkusen on Tuesday.
Slot said Jones has stepped her game up a notch since the birth of her daughter, Giselle, on Oct. 13.
“Since becoming a father, he’s started to perform really well,” Slot said.