MANCHESTER : In the end it was all rather routine as Arne Slot’s clinical Liverpool snuffed out Manchester City in the Etihad Stadium rain to put one hand on the Premier League trophy.
From the moment Mohamed Salah put Liverpool in front from a superbly-worked corner routine it looked a foregone conclusion that they would move 11 points clear in the title race.
When Salah then set up Dominik Szoboszlai for Liverpool’s second before halftime it was game over.
Liverpool did not exactly set the pulse racing for the rest of the clash, but as they have done all season they managed the game superbly, soaking up City’s possession with ease.
Slot’s side have scored a league-leading 64 goals yet are not the swashbuckling team that won the title in 2019-20 under charismatic German coach Juergen Klopp.
Dutchman Slot does not give the impression that he is overly-concerned with style marks, preferring the relentlessly efficient accumulation of points.
His side had only 34 per cent of possession at City on Sunday but that simply underlined Liverpool’s defensive discipline and showed that Wednesday’s rip-roaring 2-2 draw in a wide-open game at Aston Villa was an exception.
“Three days ago we had a draw at Villa and people told me we weren’t in a good place and then three days later we win and it changes again,” Slot told Sky Sports.
“Ideally, we have the ball more than the other team. But City when it comes to ball possession, they like it a lot and are so comfortable on the ball.
“The only chance you have to win here is to defend very well. I don’t think they had too many big chances. It is easier for us to not get excited because we know what we have to put in. This result was more about defence than attack.”
It would now take an extraordinary collapse by Liverpool for them to allow Arsenal back in to the title race and the jubilant visiting fans were already proclaiming a 20th English title at the final whistle.
But Slot is taking nothing for granted.
“In any other league, this lead would be comfortable, but this league every single game gives you a lot of challenges,” the former Feyenoord coach told reporters.
“The fans can sing whatever they want. I think they sing it quite long already, but we know as a team how hard we have to work for every single win.”
Liverpool are now 20 points above a City side who came into the season tipped as favourites to win a fifth successive title.
“What we do know is that no one saw us as a title contender when we started in the beginning of the season,” Slot said.
“I think no one in the world of football would have expected City not to be so close to the to the one that leads the league, if they are not leading the league.”
