Slot pays huge tribute to Klopp as Liverpool are crowned Premier League champions | OneFootball

Liverpool boss Arne Slot paid tribute to the work of his predecessor Jurgen Klopp and says pre-season expectations that the club would need time to rebuild were unfair, after confirmation of their Premier League title win thanks to a 5-1 thrashing of Spurs.

Tottenham’s lead from Dominic Solanke’s header was short lived as Luis Diaz equalised just four minutes later and after that Slot’s side never looked back.

Alexis Mac Allister, Cody Gakpo and Mo Salah then added to the lead before Destiny Udogie put through his own net.

Slot capped off a superb first season at the club by winning the title having taken over from Jurgen Klopp, who spent nine years in charge, and the Dutchman was keen to praise his predecessor.

“That is not only my job but the job of the players sitting there, the staff members and the work Jurgen Klopp left behind here,” Slot told Sky Sports. “The coaching of the team, the work rate of the team the quality of the team was outstanding, we all knew that.

“We started off really well and it helped a bit that Manchester City had a difficult spell that they have not had in five years.”

Although many supporters may have been nervous after Solanke’s early goal, the Dutch boss’ belief in his squad never waivered.

“I wasn’t nervous when Spurs took the lead,” he said. “I have a lot of trust in these players, they always come back, they always find a way to win.

“It is not the first time that we have gone one goal behind and I do not think you would have thought we could have lost today if you were in the stadium.”

The Liverpool boss added that the expectations at the start of the season for his team not to win the title were misjudged.

He said: “When the season started everyone would have been happy with us getting top four to get Champions league football again next season. But I do not think that was fair to our players because they are much better than that.”

The Liverpool players were serenaded by a chorus of ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ after the game and the importance of the fans being able to witness the Reds win the league this season was not lost on Slot, having been unable to celebrate the last time they lifted the trophy because of the pandemic.

“I think it being in front of our own fans makes it special,” he said. “Three or four years ago they won the league as well, an amazing accomplishment but the fans were not there.

“You could feel how important it was for them to be here. We could feel it before the game, we could feel it during the game.”