Liverpool boss Arne Slot insists the Reds will not get carried away with their five-point lead as Manchester City have shown in the past that they are in the hunt for leaders.
The Reds go top of the Premier League this weekend, with Pep Guardiola's City the biggest challengers. It has been a sparkling start for Liverpool under new boss Slot, with just one defeat in eleven games, but there is still a long way to go in the season.
It was two seasons ago when Arsenal had an eight-point lead with ten games remaining in the campaign. Last season it was Jurgen Klopp's Reds who had a three-point lead over all-conquering City in April, who went on to win a fourth title in a row. So Slot is not too enthusiastic about their lead ahead of Sunday's trip to Southampton.
“We are all aware that we are only 11 games into the season and we are not going to get carried away,” he said.
“It's not like this is the first time in Liverpool's history that we've been top of the league. I don't think the owners will get carried away. I certainly don't get carried away, and neither do the players.”
Liverpool are in for a huge week. City take on Tottenham in a tough match on Saturday, while the Reds are heavy favorites to inflict more misery on Southampton. They then take on Real Madrid in the Champions League before welcoming City to Anfield for a big match.
Liverpool are now seen by the bookmakers as slight favorites to win the title, with Opta's supercomputer predicting they will become champions in May. But Slot said: “I don't talk about favorites. It's boring, but I'm just talking about the next game, which is a challenge in itself. I have often said that the margins in the Premier League are very small. That applies throughout the season.
“I was following the league last season and there was a point where City were eight points behind Arsenal (it was 2022-2023), so there's no point in getting carried away at this point. These teams like City, Arsenal and Chelsea and even [Manchester] United and everyone else are able to put together a series of games just like us.
“So we're not going to get carried away at all and look at it like you just said in terms of favorites or whatever. The players know what they have to do to win a game, and that's a lot. If they could give 50 percent less and still win, we might think we have an extra 50 percent in the tank and don't need to give our maximum for results. But we know that in many games it was a close call.”
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