Things are looking good for Liverpool, and they have been since the beginning of the season.
Arne Slot was a relatively unknown quantity when he arrived at Anfield, but he took no time to settle in. A win percentage of some 74% would have been incredible had this been his third season, but in his first it’s just mind-blowing.
We have to give some credit to Jurgen Klopp, who left the club in a much better than when he came to Merseyside in 2015. If he’s the modern-day Bill Shankly, then Slot is Bob Paisley – and might just prove to be just as successful.
All the Trophies
Before the season started, Liverpool fans would have been delighted to even be in contention for the Premier League. Now, it’ll be a disappointment if they don’t win the title. Expectations have risen to the point where there’ll now be many fans looking at patent bets which back the Reds to win the Premier League, Champions League and Carabao Cup.
With the way they’re playing, it’s not unrealistic that LFC will have one of the most successful campaigns in their 133-year history. If they can do that, then Slot will already have established himself as a club icon in his very first season.
Bare Minimum: Premier League
Can Liverpool win all the trophies currently in front of them? Absolutely. Will fans be angry if they don’t? Not at all.
With that said, there’s a growing sense that the Premier League is there for the taking. It would take a pretty drastic collapse for the Reds not to go on and lift their 20th league title, for two reasons: the team have played so well up to now, and their rivals… well, they haven’t been at the races.
Opportunities to win the English top flight don’t come around very often; you have to take it with both hands when they do. Liverpool are already acting like they’re the best team in England. Now’s the time to go and get that trophy!
Bonus: Champions League
Six months ago, most Liverpool fans didn’t think the Premier League was a realistic ambition. The Champions League? Forget it. That belonged to Real Madrid it seemed, or maybe Bayern Munich (so that Harry Kane could finally lift a trophy).
Instead, Liverpool have looked right at home in the new Champions League format. They steamrolled the league phase and there aren’t too many teams in Europe who look like they can trouble the Reds.
You can at least expect LFC to go far in the competition, and once the business end of the tournament arrives, let’s hope that the Anfield crowd can see the team over the line when they come up against a continental giant.
Nice to Have: Carabao Cup
There’ll be no open-top bus parade if Liverpool end the season with only the Carabao Cup, but it’s always nice to have – and if you’ve done the work to reach the final at Wembley, then you may as well win it!
It would also provide Slot with his first trophy in English football, which is always important for managers. The fact that it would come just nine months after he took up the role would be all the sweeter.
Really Nice to Have: Contracts Sorted
Finally, there’s the matter of sorting out new contracts for Virgil van Dijk, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Mo Salah – all of whom are, as it stands, leaving the club at the end of the season.
Nobody is quite sure what’s happening with the contract talks at the moment, but Liverpool fans will be hoping that the club are quietly taking care of business behind the scenes. If all three of them sign an extension, then it’d feel almost as good as winning a trophy.
