Slot: Liverpool's title defence has been a struggle, but best is yet to come

Anfield, Saturday evening – Arne Slot is adamant that Liverpool’s story this season is only at the halfway point, not the final chapter. Twelve months after steering the club to a record-equalling 20th English championship, the Dutchman concedes the defence of that crown has been anything but smooth. Nine Premier League defeats already dwarf last term’s entire loss column, and a side reinforced by £446 million of Fenway Sports Group investment sits outside even the expanded five-place Champions League bracket.

Yet Slot, speaking exclusively ahead of Sunday’s Super Sunday meeting with Tottenham Hotspur, refuses to reach for the panic button. “We know how difficult it is to achieve what we’ve achieved last season,” he told Sky Sports. “This season has been much more of a struggle, but still we are able to win things – quarter-finals of the FA Cup, last 16 in Europe – and I think we’ve got a squad that has shown this season already that we’ve improved. These players will be able to improve much more in the upcoming years. The future looks bright for Liverpool.”

The numbers underline the rollercoaster. A bruising autumn featured nine losses in 12 matches across all competitions, culminating in a 1-0 setback at bottom-side Wolverhampton Wanderers last month. Since then, form has stabilised: victories over mid-table rivals have dragged Liverpool level on points with fifth-placed Chelsea and within three of Aston Villa and Manchester United, the current gatekeepers to Europe’s elite competition.

Slot credits collective continuity. “Successful teams usually play long together,” he said. “The longer they play together, the better they become. That’s what we’re going to try to achieve with these players.” He points to underlying metrics – chance creation, territorial dominance, expected goals – as evidence that performances have regularly outstripped results. “In eight out of 10 games, maybe even more, we are better than the other team. All the data is in our favour, but not always that is shown in the score.”

The most recent example came in Istanbul, where Liverpool out-shot Galatasaray but succumbed to a solitary set-piece goal in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie. Slot declined to publicly dissect the shortcomings, preferring to keep those conversations in the dressing-room, yet he admits the pattern of conceding from the opponent’s first opportunity has become a costly habit.

Sunday’s assignment offers immediate redemption. Tottenham arrive at Anfield winless in 11 league fixtures since a December 28 triumph at Crystal Palace and entrenched in relegation danger under caretaker boss Igor Tudor. Slot, however, expects surprises. “Eight out of 10 teams do something different against us than in the previous seven or eight games,” he noted, highlighting the tactical curveballs that accompany life as champions.

A victory is non-negotiable if Liverpool are to sustain momentum before next week’s European second leg. Slot’s message to supporters is unequivocal: judge the project not on one turbulent campaign but on the trajectory. “I’m 100 per cent sure that the best is still to come because there’s individual progress to be made and it’s already happening.”

Kick-off on Super Sunday is 4.30pm, with build-up from 4pm live on Sky Sports Premier League.