{"id":74896,"date":"2025-05-04T22:17:09","date_gmt":"2025-05-04T22:17:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/74896\/"},"modified":"2025-05-04T22:17:09","modified_gmt":"2025-05-04T22:17:09","slug":"arne-slot-names-club-he-thought-would-rival-liverpool-for-premier-league-title-football","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/74896\/","title":{"rendered":"Arne Slot names club he thought would rival Liverpool for Premier League title | Football"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\n\t\tLiverpool boss Arne Slot is set to lift the Premier League trophy (Picture: YouTube)<\/p>\n

Arne Slot<\/a> admits he expected greater competition in the Premier League<\/a> with Liverpool<\/a> 15 points clear of their nearest rival.<\/p>\n

Liverpool surged clear of their domestic rivals across the 2024-25 campaign to clinch a record-equalling 20th English league title<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Slot\u2019s side had lost just twice in the league by the time they wrapped up the title, amassing 82 points from 35 games.<\/p>\n

Life as Premier League champions got off to an underwhelming start on Sunday as Liverpool were beaten 3-1 by Chelsea at Stamford Bridge<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Slot spoke highly of Enzo Maresca\u2019s team after the disappointing loss and said he fully expected Chelsea to mount a title challenge after facing the Blues back in October.<\/p>\n

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Liverpool beat Chelsea 2-1 that day<\/a> but Slot felt his team were second-best at Anfield and says the result left him convinced that the west London side were genuine title challengers.<\/p>\n

Chelsea were one of the stand-out teams in England in the first-half of the season but have slipped to fifth in the Premier League \u2013 19 points behind Liverpool \u2013 following a huge drop-off in the second-half of the campaign.<\/p>\n

\t\t\"Liverpool
\n\t\tLiverpool surged to the Premier League trophy (Picture: Getty)<\/p>\n

They have, however, won three games in a row after beating Liverpool as they look to finish in the top-five of the Premier League and qualify for next season\u2019s Champions League.<\/p>\n

Asked whether he expects Chelsea to rival Liverpool for the title next season, Slot said: \u2018I expected them to be a threat this season.<\/p>\n

\u2018They were better than us at Anfield, they were so close to us. So it was a complete surprise to me that we are now 18 points clear of them, I didn\u2019t feel that at all when we played them.<\/p>\n

\t\t\"Chelsea
\n\t\tChelsea beat the Premier League champions at Stamford Bridge (Picture: Getty)<\/p>\n

\u2018But it tells you probably how well we did if a team like this, with so much quality in the squad, we can go clear of them. It is a big compliment for our players. Chelsea have so many quality players.\u2019<\/p>\n

Liverpool were second-best for the majority of Sunday\u2019s clash at Stamford Bridge, with Cole Palmer starring in Chelsea\u2019s crucial win<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Slot added: \u2018They were a constant threat on the counter-attack, but they have a very good team. Well organised and so many great individuals.<\/p>\n

\t\t\"Chelsea
\n\t\tEnzo Maresca\u2019s side briefly threatened to challenge for the title (Picture: Getty)<\/p>\n

\u2018It will always be a difficult game to play here, but for us to play the way we did tells me also why we won the league, but it also tells me if you have a small drop off in the final third you can concede or not score.<\/p>\n

\u2018A wise man once said to me \u2018nothing good comes from losing a football game\u2019 and that\u2019s how we experience it.<\/p>\n

\u2018Yes, we slipped twice with a goals conceded, but the amount of times we could play through Chelsea was much more than half a season ago.<\/p>\n

\u2018In the final third we were not as aggressive and we missed a few percent to score the goal.\u2019<\/p>\n

Chelsea boss Maresca, meanwhile, said: \u2018Very important three points, especially at this stage in the season.<\/p>\n

\u2018This team [Liverpool] showed why they are so good. They forced us to defend deep which we don\u2019t like.<\/p>\n

\u2018We planned the game to be aggressive, playing the way we want and they forced us to use a different plan. The players adapted quite well. For the amount of chances that we created, we deserved to win the game.<\/p>\n

\u2018We didn\u2019t plan to wait and defend deep but they forced us to do this and this showed why they won the Premier League because they are a top side.\u2019<\/p>\n

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