On cusp of league title, Liverpool boss not getting ahead of himself
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LIVERPOOL, England :Liverpool only need a point at home against struggling Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday to seal a 20th English top-flight title but manager Arne Slot cautioned that there would be no early celebrations from his players until the fulltime whistle.
Following second-placed Arsenal's 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace in midweek, Liverpool can win the Premier League by reaching 80 points from 34 matches in Slot's first season in charge since succeeding Juergen Klopp last year.
"It's a big responsibility," Slot told reporters on Friday. "We are aware that the last time this club won the league was during COVID time (in 2020), so everybody is looking forward to Sunday. But we know there's still a job to do.
"It's a nice game to look forward to but also a responsibility we have for Sunday. Enjoying is what you do after the referee has blown his whistle (for fulltime)."
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The 46-year-old Dutchman has shattered expectations in his first season as Klopp's replacement, with Liverpool losing just twice in the league and leading Arsenal by 12 points with a game in hand.
"I've said many times, when you come in, you just look at how things are looking around you and then you work with your players to create a playing style, which we already knew we wouldn't change too much," Slot said.
"You walk through the doors here or at Anfield, you know this club has to win trophies. That doesn't change when I walked through that door.
"The good thing is that most managers work here for a long time, so you have a lot of chances to win something. You are aware of that but that is not the first thing that you think about when you walk through this door."
Slot dismissed questions about whether the Premier League was weaker than in past seasons, with the likes of former champions Manchester City and Manchester United both having poor campaigns.
"Everyone can have their own opinion," he said. "The nice thing in life is that you can share your opinion with everyone. It's difficult (to judge), I've only been here a year. I can only tell you what I've experienced.
"It's never been so exciting for a top four, top five finish. All the years before it was quite clear who would get the top four or five positions.
"In my opinion, it's a really difficult league, that's what I experienced over here. It's really hard to win a game of football, but maybe that tells you something about us."
Liverpool will equal the record of 20 English top-flight title wins with United if they do not lose to Spurs.
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