Arne Slot success played down by Liverpool hero who knew Klopp transition would ‘be seamless’
Steve McManaman says he always thought the transition from Jurgen Klopp to Arne Slot at Liverpool would “be seamless”, playing down the achievements of the new Reds boss.
Slot let Liverpool to their 17th win in 19 games in his debut campaign as the Reds triumphed over European champions Real Madrid at Anfield on Wednesday.
Alexis Mac Allister and Cody Gakpo were on target for Liverpool in a breathless game that also saw Kylian Mbappe and Mohamed Salah miss penalties.
Victory means Liverpool retain their 100 per cent record in the Champions League and sit top of that table and also at the Premier League summit.
But McManaman isn’t shocked by the “seamlesss” transition from Klopp to Slot, though is surprised they’ve been quite so consistent.
“I thought that it would be seamless to be honest. I didn’t expect the results to go as well as they have done. I expected a blip every now and then, the fact it’s only happened to Nottingham Forest and Arsenal away, that is very surprising,” the former Liverpool and Madrid star told TNT Sports.
“The fact they’ve been so dominant in the league, they’ve had a bit of fortune with other teams dropping points, but he’s [Slot] been excellent.
“I thought the sporting directors would bring in the type of manager who would match the team. They were not going to bring in a manager who was going to change the starting 11, change the way they play or the formation. The team last year were excellent up until April, they were vying for all the trophies. So I didn’t expect them to collapse just because a manager has gone.
“You know that if a manager goes out the door and someone comes in, you don’t automatically throw in the towel. As a professional, you want to win every single game and that’s what Liverpool do. But the level of results has surprised me.”
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Slot was impressed by his side’s performance against Madrid but isn’t getting carried away after a game in the group stage of the competition.
“It is always good to win a game, especially a big game like this,” said the Dutchman, who will now be preparing his side to take on Manchester City on Sunday.
“It will mean more in the later stages of the tournament. It is difficult to judge how big these wins are. If we are able to beat them in the knockout stages it will be a bigger statement.”
