Arne Slot was insistent beforehand that 15 days in February would not define Liverpool’s 2024/25 title chances.
He was right, of course, a period of two weeks over the course of a nine-month season was never going to decide where the Premier League trophy will end up, even if 13 percent of the campaign was squeezed into that tight block.
Slot’s view was that the other 87 percent would really determine who will be crowned champions in May. But he couldn’t have imagined just how healthy the table would look at the end of that grueling period.
Liverpool was six points clear of Arsenal, with a game in hand, prior to the rearranged Everton match on Feb. 12. By the night of Feb. 26, that gap has stretched to 13, albeit Mikel Arteta’s side have now played a game fewer.
But what has become abundantly clear in the last two weeks is that, even if Liverpool were to have a crisis in the final weeks of the season, the chasing pack don’t look in a position to capitalize. Third-place Nottingham Forest now trails the leaders by 19 points, leaving only Arsenal left to offer any resistance.
But the Gunners’ lack of firepower up front could prove terminal for their league aspirations. In a period in which Liverpool amassed 11 points, Arsenal managed just four. Slot may be right that Liverpool hasn’t won the title in that 15 days, but it might be the point when any illusions of a battle at the league’s summit ended.
That the 11-point haul was earned against such tough opposition makes Liverpool’s recent run even more impressive. Everton, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Aston Villa, Manchester City and Newcastle United was not the sequence of games Slot would have selected for such an intense spell, although, ironically it was against 17th-place Wolves that Liverpool looked most unnerved.
The five matches also posed contrasting challenges. Everton, at Goodison Park, was a bruising, battling affair, when emotional control was as important as technical skill. Liverpool had to ride out the storm against Wolves and just find a way through, while a trip to Villa Park offered an open, intense and physically exhausting affair.
At City, Slot set his side up to counter in an atypical 4-2-2-2 system, owing to the fact his side would not dominate possession, while it was the opposite in the final encounter of the five, as Liverpool retained the ball excellently and limited Newcastle to three shots all night on Wednesday.
The pragmatic approach underlined Slot’s coaching credentials and his eye for detail. The ability to identify the best approach needed and execute it is unique among the current top-flight managers, particularly in an era when so many elite coaches seem wedded to tactical systems.
Ange Postecoglou was fortunate not to be dismissed for his reluctance to adjust his gung-ho approach, Russell Martin was less lucky at Southampton following a determination to play out from the back, while Manchester United fans have been underwhelmed at Ruben Amorim’s start to life at Old Trafford and his refusal to adjust from a 3-4-3 shape.
Even top-tier managers Pep Guardiola and Unai Emery could be accused of showing a stubbornness to deviate from Plan A this season, with both Champions League sides regressing in 2024/25. The same can’t be said for Liverpool, who are only evolving the longer Slot has time to convey his teachings.
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The view, commonly held at the start of the season, that Slot had merely added more midfield control and slightly less press from Jurgen Klopp’s philosophy, has quickly gone. The Liverpool boss is proving – if needed – that he is among the game’s elite coaches.
The tactical tweaks have been evident for months now, whether it was dropping Ryan Gravenberch into a hybrid defense-midfield role at Nottingham Forest or the selection of Luis Diaz as a false nine. That’s in addition to the squad maintenance and ability to bring a sense of tranquillity amid the fervent excitement that has gripped the club’s fanbase this season.
His coaching capabilities will be tested further in the coming months, particularly as crunch time beckons in the Champions League, but it’s felt that way all season. Each time, the Dutchman has found the answer.