Liverpool face ‘more difficult’ test up next after Real Madrid and Man City wins

Liverpool may have beaten the European champions and current Premier League title holders in the last seven days, but Arne Slot warned things will get even tougher this week.

The Reds boss wants to keep his leaders on their toes ahead of trips to Newcastle and local rivals Everton. Slot's team is nine points clear at the top of the Premier League after beating Manchester City on Sunday.

While they have one foot in the knockout stages of the Champions League after a home win over Real Madrid last week. Now they travel to Newcastle on Wednesday, a happy hunting ground for the Reds as they have won four of their last six at St James' Park with their last defeat there coming in 2015.

But Slot is wary of the Magpies' fight, who want to beat the Reds by a few points.

He said: “We have shown that we are physically very strong at home, but after two wins like this it is sometimes difficult to appear again and again in an away game.

“Newcastle won at home against Arsenal, at home against Chelsea and drew against Manchester City, so maybe it is even harder to play Newcastle away than City or Real at home. I'm not talking about quality. I'm talking about how difficult it is to win at St James' Park.

“Everyone was really looking forward to Real Madrid and Man City and now we've had it and that can sometimes lead to you feeling like it was such a great experience that you want to enjoy it for a few more days.

“But we don't have that time. We have to be back straight away in probably one of the most difficult away games you can have in a season. One of them, for sure.”

That is one of the differences that the former Feyenoord boss has to deal with now that he is starting to work in England. Not easy games.

He added: “Normally, when you beat Ajax or PSV, there comes a match that you can win. That's true. But I remember last season when we beat Lazio at home at Feyenoord and everyone said they could go to the quarter-finals of the Champions League and things like that were said in the Dutch media.

“We then had to play against FC Twente, which you could compare with Newcastle in terms of rankings.

“We had a lot of problems because when you beat Real Madrid and City, the teams you face want to prove to you even more how good they are.

“You always have to be aware of that and then going to a stadium like that will help them like playing at Anfield helped us.”

Liverpool have won 18 of 20 games so far this season, with a defeat to Nottingham Forest and a draw at Arsenal the only matches without maximum points or progression in the Carabao Cup.

They have won their last seven in all competitions and things have been going so well for Slot since replacing Jurgen Klopp. But will they face a dip at some point as they challenge on four fronts?

He said: “It doesn't have to be inevitable, but a normal season for any team, even City, who win it four times in a row, has difficult periods.

“But we don't plan to do that at all. I don't think: 'How will I react then?' Only one game at a time.”